Paint Fight
Apr. 2nd, 2011 06:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ericadawn16Title: But Time Marches On
Author: Ericadawn16
Characters: Jack, Selene, David, Emyr Jack/Ianto, David/Emyr
Rated: PG-13 ANGST COE Spoilers MPREG AU
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Jack has to admit some hard truths about himself.
Author's Note: The Sequel to But Time Didn't Stop
Masterlist: http://ericadawn16.livejournal.com/113396.html
Paint Fight
"Is this really necessary?" Jack asked in Selene's office the next day. He stared at his shoes tapping on the tiled floor. She took off her light purple glasses, rubbed her eyes and asked, "When did you phone me last night?"
"Uh, it was late," he said, not remembering precise details except that he had waited for the kids to be asleep.
"It was 12:17 and we didn't finish until 2:38 in the morning," she spoke, "It gave me the impression that you were really upset and we should have a session today."
Jack went for his coat pockets but she'd made him take it off. She had sorted out that it was his equivalent of a security blanket.
"I think part of what is upsetting you about Alice is your own memories of Gully," Selene continued in a soft tone. Jack wished she wouldn't call her by her name. It made her seem more real.
"Maybe..." he told her.
"Maybe you should talk about it with Alice," Selene suggested and Jack shook his head.
"No, I'm not talking about Gul...about her with anyone," Jack refused and Selene made another note on her paper.
"You talked about her with Gwen," she said and he'd let her believe that.
"No, I didn't," he admitted, clasping the comforting band of his watch, "I told her my first child was a girl and she died, nothing more than that."
"See, this is a perfect example of what we've been discussing. People tend to have secrets: things they keep to themselves and tell no one. This is fine when you only have a few and you live to the usual life expectancy. You, on the other hand, are a lot older than that and just keep accluminating secrets. Those secrets build and build until it becomes unhealthy especially when you're pre-disposed to addictions as it is."
Her words hung thick in the air. Today, he wasn't in the mood and tried to deter the best way he knew how.
"I don't care for talking. Drinking or sex just seems easier," Jack joked, hoping for some response from her. There was nothing, just silence until after another moment or so, she uttered, "You talked to me."
"Wasn't much choice there," Jack retorted.
"You didn't have to fight for your position here. Might not seem like much of a choice, but it did exist and you chose to fight for Iefan. He's why you're doing this so you can make him and Ianto proud."
Jack sighed and Selene leaned forward at her desk before continuing, "But we have to think beyond today, beyond next week. We have to think about the hard truth which is...that Iefan isn't going to live forever like you. He's going to die and what will you do then? Are you going to fall back on old patterns then? Drink yourself to oblivion? Doesn't serve their memory much, does it?"
Jack shook his head. It did worry him.
"And what am I supposed to do about it?" he asked.
"Do you have any friends? People that you confide in?" she asked, meeting his question with another question.
"Yeah, there's Rhi and Martha and Alice and..."
"People who are work colleagues or related to you," Selene interrupted.
"There's the Doctor," he said although perhaps he counted as a work colleague to her.
"And you've kissed him twice, at least?" she asked.
"I kissed you once, too. If we're going to discount everyone I've kissed...well...it's a very long list," Jack argued, folding his arms, "Does that mean you have someone right now? Because I don't recall you mentioning anyone."
He couldn't help glancing at the framed photo of her cat.
"You're falling back on your defensive habits, Jack...pointing out the flaws in others when they've upset you, when they're too close to the mark," she told him without any other reaction. Jack looked at his shoes again. He should probably get new ones. These were getting fairly scruffed and he just couldn't them nice again the way Ianto could.
"I'm not saying you have to change completely, but aside from the odd artist or writer and even that's been quite a while, you've stuck to Torchwood employees for your love affairs. You know full well that Torchwood employees have a significantly shortened lifespan or they'll end up quitting Torchwood. It can't end well. I realise that they understand better but times are changed. More and more people are accepting that aliens are real. You could try for someone a bit more normal, but then, you haven't been trying for anyone lately," Selene spoke and he hated how right she was.
"I've been busy," he said with a shrug.
"You cut yourself off. You used Iefan as an excuse: the same way you used him as an excuse not to come back to Torchwood when you first came back to Earth..."
"I didn't!" Jack yelled.
"But you did, you still do. Tell me how you reunited with Alice. Was it your idea?" Selene asked since they hadn't gotten that far yet in his history.
"No, Rhi told me to do it."
"You need to join us, Jack, really join us instead of being the outsider looking in. Unfortunately, you've never learned that. Ever since you were fourteen, you never felt like you belonged. All this time, you've been that fourteen year old, either desperate for approval or not wanting to get hurt again," she uttered in a soft voice.
He wanted to argue. He wanted to prove her wrong: that he wasn't the nutter she was making him out to be. The words wouldn't come out of Jack's lips. It was true.
"I don't...I don't want to be like this forever," he admitted and shook his head. Selene stood up from her desk and moved a chair closer to him before sitting down.
"We're going to work on this. It's going to be better," she said with a nod.
"Really?" Jack asked.
"Yes, you're stronger than you realise," she said, "and I have an exercise I want you to do for me."
Jack braced himself for what she might say next. Her brown eyes left no clues and he didn't want to try harder than that.
******************************************************************
David walked into the flat and knew Emyr was painting. The plastic was definitely a clue but the smell was a dead giveaway. He walked into the kitchen and finished off the beer bottle from last night.
"Emyr, why are we bothering to paint the kitchen?" David asked.
"I found more remnants from the spaghetti making incident, thought this would be easier than the cleaning," Emyr explained, "Gonna help me then?"
David had no intention of helping him until a thought struck him.
"Sure," he said and took up a brush, sticking it in the white paint. Then, he touched Emyr's cheek with it.
"Oi!" Emyr yelled and turned around to face him, brandishing his own paintbrush. They stuck them both out like swords and circled each other. David stepped forward in a quick action and touched his sleeve.
"No, not the shirt!" Emyr yelled and reached until he painted a spot on David's jeans. David didn't think he'd actually do it. He raised up his paintbrush and kept faking Emyr out by pretending to go after him. Then, he did. Emyr ran and slipped. David dropped the paintbrush in order to catch him before his head hit something dangerous, like the tile. However, it smeared against the wet paint. His brown hair had white patches and David laughed.
"Shut it," Emyr complained but started laughing, too. He pulled David closer to him and kissed him on the lips.
"Happy Anniversary," David told him when they finally stopped.
***********************************************************
Jack had been expecting something very different. He'd been told to bring Iefan and a nappy bag to this address. It turned out to be a whole building for kids with playgrounds and things. After five minutes, he was a little anxious but she said she'd be here.
"Jack, not about to phone me again, are you?" Selene asked with a smile, coming towards them.
"Course not," Jack replied and couldn't help noticing that Selene hadn't come alone.
"Rachel, this is the Jack I was telling you about and Iefan. Jack, this is Rachel and Harry," Selene spoke and pointed to each. Rachel looked like she was about Selene's age while Harry must have been about Iefan's age but shorter.
"Well, let's go play!" Selene announced and clapped her hands. Rachel forced a laugh and glanced in Jack's direction.
Author: Ericadawn16
Characters: Jack, Selene, David, Emyr Jack/Ianto, David/Emyr
Rated: PG-13 ANGST COE Spoilers MPREG AU
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Jack has to admit some hard truths about himself.
Author's Note: The Sequel to But Time Didn't Stop
Masterlist: http://ericadawn16.livejournal.com/113396.html
Paint Fight
"Is this really necessary?" Jack asked in Selene's office the next day. He stared at his shoes tapping on the tiled floor. She took off her light purple glasses, rubbed her eyes and asked, "When did you phone me last night?"
"Uh, it was late," he said, not remembering precise details except that he had waited for the kids to be asleep.
"It was 12:17 and we didn't finish until 2:38 in the morning," she spoke, "It gave me the impression that you were really upset and we should have a session today."
Jack went for his coat pockets but she'd made him take it off. She had sorted out that it was his equivalent of a security blanket.
"I think part of what is upsetting you about Alice is your own memories of Gully," Selene continued in a soft tone. Jack wished she wouldn't call her by her name. It made her seem more real.
"Maybe..." he told her.
"Maybe you should talk about it with Alice," Selene suggested and Jack shook his head.
"No, I'm not talking about Gul...about her with anyone," Jack refused and Selene made another note on her paper.
"You talked about her with Gwen," she said and he'd let her believe that.
"No, I didn't," he admitted, clasping the comforting band of his watch, "I told her my first child was a girl and she died, nothing more than that."
"See, this is a perfect example of what we've been discussing. People tend to have secrets: things they keep to themselves and tell no one. This is fine when you only have a few and you live to the usual life expectancy. You, on the other hand, are a lot older than that and just keep accluminating secrets. Those secrets build and build until it becomes unhealthy especially when you're pre-disposed to addictions as it is."
Her words hung thick in the air. Today, he wasn't in the mood and tried to deter the best way he knew how.
"I don't care for talking. Drinking or sex just seems easier," Jack joked, hoping for some response from her. There was nothing, just silence until after another moment or so, she uttered, "You talked to me."
"Wasn't much choice there," Jack retorted.
"You didn't have to fight for your position here. Might not seem like much of a choice, but it did exist and you chose to fight for Iefan. He's why you're doing this so you can make him and Ianto proud."
Jack sighed and Selene leaned forward at her desk before continuing, "But we have to think beyond today, beyond next week. We have to think about the hard truth which is...that Iefan isn't going to live forever like you. He's going to die and what will you do then? Are you going to fall back on old patterns then? Drink yourself to oblivion? Doesn't serve their memory much, does it?"
Jack shook his head. It did worry him.
"And what am I supposed to do about it?" he asked.
"Do you have any friends? People that you confide in?" she asked, meeting his question with another question.
"Yeah, there's Rhi and Martha and Alice and..."
"People who are work colleagues or related to you," Selene interrupted.
"There's the Doctor," he said although perhaps he counted as a work colleague to her.
"And you've kissed him twice, at least?" she asked.
"I kissed you once, too. If we're going to discount everyone I've kissed...well...it's a very long list," Jack argued, folding his arms, "Does that mean you have someone right now? Because I don't recall you mentioning anyone."
He couldn't help glancing at the framed photo of her cat.
"You're falling back on your defensive habits, Jack...pointing out the flaws in others when they've upset you, when they're too close to the mark," she told him without any other reaction. Jack looked at his shoes again. He should probably get new ones. These were getting fairly scruffed and he just couldn't them nice again the way Ianto could.
"I'm not saying you have to change completely, but aside from the odd artist or writer and even that's been quite a while, you've stuck to Torchwood employees for your love affairs. You know full well that Torchwood employees have a significantly shortened lifespan or they'll end up quitting Torchwood. It can't end well. I realise that they understand better but times are changed. More and more people are accepting that aliens are real. You could try for someone a bit more normal, but then, you haven't been trying for anyone lately," Selene spoke and he hated how right she was.
"I've been busy," he said with a shrug.
"You cut yourself off. You used Iefan as an excuse: the same way you used him as an excuse not to come back to Torchwood when you first came back to Earth..."
"I didn't!" Jack yelled.
"But you did, you still do. Tell me how you reunited with Alice. Was it your idea?" Selene asked since they hadn't gotten that far yet in his history.
"No, Rhi told me to do it."
"You need to join us, Jack, really join us instead of being the outsider looking in. Unfortunately, you've never learned that. Ever since you were fourteen, you never felt like you belonged. All this time, you've been that fourteen year old, either desperate for approval or not wanting to get hurt again," she uttered in a soft voice.
He wanted to argue. He wanted to prove her wrong: that he wasn't the nutter she was making him out to be. The words wouldn't come out of Jack's lips. It was true.
"I don't...I don't want to be like this forever," he admitted and shook his head. Selene stood up from her desk and moved a chair closer to him before sitting down.
"We're going to work on this. It's going to be better," she said with a nod.
"Really?" Jack asked.
"Yes, you're stronger than you realise," she said, "and I have an exercise I want you to do for me."
Jack braced himself for what she might say next. Her brown eyes left no clues and he didn't want to try harder than that.
******************************************************************
David walked into the flat and knew Emyr was painting. The plastic was definitely a clue but the smell was a dead giveaway. He walked into the kitchen and finished off the beer bottle from last night.
"Emyr, why are we bothering to paint the kitchen?" David asked.
"I found more remnants from the spaghetti making incident, thought this would be easier than the cleaning," Emyr explained, "Gonna help me then?"
David had no intention of helping him until a thought struck him.
"Sure," he said and took up a brush, sticking it in the white paint. Then, he touched Emyr's cheek with it.
"Oi!" Emyr yelled and turned around to face him, brandishing his own paintbrush. They stuck them both out like swords and circled each other. David stepped forward in a quick action and touched his sleeve.
"No, not the shirt!" Emyr yelled and reached until he painted a spot on David's jeans. David didn't think he'd actually do it. He raised up his paintbrush and kept faking Emyr out by pretending to go after him. Then, he did. Emyr ran and slipped. David dropped the paintbrush in order to catch him before his head hit something dangerous, like the tile. However, it smeared against the wet paint. His brown hair had white patches and David laughed.
"Shut it," Emyr complained but started laughing, too. He pulled David closer to him and kissed him on the lips.
"Happy Anniversary," David told him when they finally stopped.
***********************************************************
Jack had been expecting something very different. He'd been told to bring Iefan and a nappy bag to this address. It turned out to be a whole building for kids with playgrounds and things. After five minutes, he was a little anxious but she said she'd be here.
"Jack, not about to phone me again, are you?" Selene asked with a smile, coming towards them.
"Course not," Jack replied and couldn't help noticing that Selene hadn't come alone.
"Rachel, this is the Jack I was telling you about and Iefan. Jack, this is Rachel and Harry," Selene spoke and pointed to each. Rachel looked like she was about Selene's age while Harry must have been about Iefan's age but shorter.
"Well, let's go play!" Selene announced and clapped her hands. Rachel forced a laugh and glanced in Jack's direction.
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no subject
Date: 2011-04-17 08:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-22 05:05 am (UTC)Thank you!
(hugs)