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ericadawn16Title: But Time Didn’t Stop
Characters: Jack, Gwen, Ianto Jack/Ianto
Rated: PG-13 ANGST COE Spoilers MPREG
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Jack has two favors he needs from Gwen.
Author's Note: Starts after COE.
Previous Segment: September 15th, 2010 or March 12th, 2017
Masterlist: http://ericadawn16.livejournal.com/63337.html
September 15th, 2010 or March 12th, 2017, Part Two
Jack read through more of the bulletin board until realizing that they weren't talking. The awful silence grew and spread again; infecting the room. It was time to either take his leave or gather up the courage to ask one of the two favors he'd come for...
“As much as I wish I could believe that this was a friendly meeting to catch up, it wasn’t, was it?” Gwen asked in an almost whisper.
“No,” he uttered and sat up straighter, “Rhi said there wasn’t any footage of Ianto left.”
Her right hand took another of the three frames on her desk. It was his best guess that it contained Owen, Tosh and Ianto.
“All we had was on the CCTV,” she spoke, “And when we able to reconnect the systems, the CCTV had been corrupted. The majority of footage was missing entirely and what remained was garbled beyond recognition. None of it was salvageable but there is one thing…”
She pointed at her thin monitor, adding, “I never took him out of the system. I’ve been waiting. It wouldn’t have been right without you there.”
He took a deep breath. If he couldn’t go through with this, there was no way he could do the rest of his plan either. Jack stood up and walked over to her.
At first, he leaned down with his face over her shoulder. However, that reminded him too much of when they were in the make-shift morgue. Jack stood up and moved beside her with an arm around her. He felt her relax into it as she called up the required program.
“This is it,” she said with clear trepidation in her voice.
She right-clicked on the name “IANTO JONES” and a list of commands came up, including Delete. After the arrow clicked on that choice, a box popped up.
“Are you sure?” she read in a way that sounded more to herself than him.
He gave her a little hug and squeeze even though he was nervous, too. Then, he thought about how he should record this so he took out his mobile as she clicked, “YES”.
The monitor flickered for a second before an image appeared. Ianto Jones was in his suit with the pink shirt and tie with the smile used when he knew the perfect quip.
“Happy Christmas!” he exclaimed, “I’m assuming it’s not Christmas.”
Then, his blue eyes narrowed.
“Unless, I did die on Christmas…” he continued, “which would be odd. Still, I can’t compete with Tosh. Her goodbye was perfect so I came up with this plan instead. For the next hundred years, I’ll pop up for holidays, like both of your birthdays. I’ll be like your own personal ghost except without the mess and the need for exorcism.”
Despite himself, Jack felt a smile form at his lips. His husband smiled once more at the camera and pressed a button on a small remote. The screen went black and faded into the former computer screen again. He pressed stop on his mobile and thought about the extra motivation for re-joining Torchwood.
Still, there were two more things to do. Even though it was new footage of Ianto, it wasn’t the Ianto who head-butted a cannibal and fought with the man who held a gun to his head. Surely, she hadn’t lost it after all this time. He was quiet too long.
“What is it, Jack? Is it just seeing him again? Just tell me,” she said and before he knew it; she had enveloped him in a hug. It felt good. The words wanted to stay unsaid, but that wouldn’t work.
“Do you still have the discs from that week?” he asked and her grip stiffened.
“What week?” she questioned as though she didn’t know exactly what week he meant.
“That week; the one where each disc is numbered one through seven,” Jack answered in a whisper.
“Oh, Jack,” Gwen said, shaking her head, “Why would you want those?”
“Just the one with Ianto,” he clarified and wasn’t sure he could make her understand. He didn’t completely understand himself.
“I just feel like I need to,” he continued, “Have you ever watched them?”
She shook her head again.
“I have so many ghosts…” Gwen uttered and let go of him, “You know what it’s like, even when their memory fades, another takes their place except for him. I always hear Ianto like yesterday.”
“For me, it helped that you changed the Hub so much,” Jack revealed, “I couldn’t make out where everything had happened.”
Her brown eyes looked toward the curtain that would show the whole Hub when opened.
“Remember when the five of us used to play basketball down below?” she asked with her arms crossed.
“Yes,” he replied but couldn’t make a smile, “Until Myfanwy stole the ball.”
He fiddled with his watch.
“Would it really help?” she asked, glancing back at him.
“I think it might,” he spoke, “Partly to reassure myself there was nothing I could have done and partly to remind myself what really did happen…the government’s version is so different.”
Gwen dumped some of the folders on the floor and sat on the edge of the desk
“I agreed to it,” she admitted with her palms on the polished wood and he sat back down in the chair, “They asked my permission and I agreed…as long as Torchwood would receive the same funding as it always had. I also give Rhi a little extra each month in her account. Between David and Mica, she probably needs it. They also expunged the records so you, Lois and Ianto were no longer guilty of treason. It also saved us being investigated.”
When put that way, he supposed it had been the right, professional thing to do although another thought occurred to him.
“Do you know what Mica is up to then?” he asked her.
“Hacking into not so secret government organizations? Oh, I’m quite aware,” Gwen replied, “She reminds me of myself a little bit. She’ll probably be seeing the change of roster any moment now. I get it though. She wants to know more about her uncle which is sweet, but I can’t have her knowing everything so I let her access certain things.”
“And you let Rhi read the Martyn book,” Jack added and she nodded.
“She kept asking me about him; about Torchwood…it seemed easier,” she spoke, “but it’s not like being there and actually seeing him driving a JCB into a military base or something.”
“I know. He would look like this mild-mannered man in a fine suit and then…it was almost like he became this whole other person,” he agreed and there was a knock at the door, “They’ve both mentioned how they wish they could see him like that.”
Gwen stood up and went to the door; opening it only halfway. He could just make out Lois’ head. Her hair was braided rather than the straight style she'd worn all those years ago.
“No one’s dead, that’s a good sign,” she commented with a nod towards Jack, “But Gwen, Rhys just called. The school said Ianto threw up and he has a temperature so he’s taking him home.”
“Then, I’ll be right there. You can reach me on my mobile,” said Gwen, taking her coat from a hook.
“He also said that you didn’t need to leave. He has it taken care of,” Lois spoke and the Welshwoman shook her head.
“No, he’s my child and he’s sick. He needs me,” she argued, “Just give us a moment and I’ll be right down.”
Lois nodded as though used to it and left. Gwen shut the door behind her before touching a red colored brick on the other on the other side of the hidden lift. Then, she twisted a framed picture of her current team, turned on the other lamp on her desk, opened the bottom drawer of the desk and turned the round turntable which sat his coral. It had grown a lot in the past seven years; maybe even as much as thirteen centimeters. When it had turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees, a section of the wall opened and she stepped into it. This was a big improvement on secure archives, he thought as he leaned his head to look. She hit a button inside and it closed behind her.
“Here it is, you should visit us when he gets better, I’d love to see that baby in person,” Gwen told him and held out a disc in a case with date marked on it, “and if you want someone to watch it with you, I…I can come.”
September 15th, 2010 or March 12th, 2017, Part Three
Characters: Jack, Gwen, Ianto Jack/Ianto
Rated: PG-13 ANGST COE Spoilers MPREG
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Jack has two favors he needs from Gwen.
Author's Note: Starts after COE.
Previous Segment: September 15th, 2010 or March 12th, 2017
Masterlist: http://ericadawn16.livejournal.com/63337.html
September 15th, 2010 or March 12th, 2017, Part Two
Jack read through more of the bulletin board until realizing that they weren't talking. The awful silence grew and spread again; infecting the room. It was time to either take his leave or gather up the courage to ask one of the two favors he'd come for...
“As much as I wish I could believe that this was a friendly meeting to catch up, it wasn’t, was it?” Gwen asked in an almost whisper.
“No,” he uttered and sat up straighter, “Rhi said there wasn’t any footage of Ianto left.”
Her right hand took another of the three frames on her desk. It was his best guess that it contained Owen, Tosh and Ianto.
“All we had was on the CCTV,” she spoke, “And when we able to reconnect the systems, the CCTV had been corrupted. The majority of footage was missing entirely and what remained was garbled beyond recognition. None of it was salvageable but there is one thing…”
She pointed at her thin monitor, adding, “I never took him out of the system. I’ve been waiting. It wouldn’t have been right without you there.”
He took a deep breath. If he couldn’t go through with this, there was no way he could do the rest of his plan either. Jack stood up and walked over to her.
At first, he leaned down with his face over her shoulder. However, that reminded him too much of when they were in the make-shift morgue. Jack stood up and moved beside her with an arm around her. He felt her relax into it as she called up the required program.
“This is it,” she said with clear trepidation in her voice.
She right-clicked on the name “IANTO JONES” and a list of commands came up, including Delete. After the arrow clicked on that choice, a box popped up.
“Are you sure?” she read in a way that sounded more to herself than him.
He gave her a little hug and squeeze even though he was nervous, too. Then, he thought about how he should record this so he took out his mobile as she clicked, “YES”.
The monitor flickered for a second before an image appeared. Ianto Jones was in his suit with the pink shirt and tie with the smile used when he knew the perfect quip.
“Happy Christmas!” he exclaimed, “I’m assuming it’s not Christmas.”
Then, his blue eyes narrowed.
“Unless, I did die on Christmas…” he continued, “which would be odd. Still, I can’t compete with Tosh. Her goodbye was perfect so I came up with this plan instead. For the next hundred years, I’ll pop up for holidays, like both of your birthdays. I’ll be like your own personal ghost except without the mess and the need for exorcism.”
Despite himself, Jack felt a smile form at his lips. His husband smiled once more at the camera and pressed a button on a small remote. The screen went black and faded into the former computer screen again. He pressed stop on his mobile and thought about the extra motivation for re-joining Torchwood.
Still, there were two more things to do. Even though it was new footage of Ianto, it wasn’t the Ianto who head-butted a cannibal and fought with the man who held a gun to his head. Surely, she hadn’t lost it after all this time. He was quiet too long.
“What is it, Jack? Is it just seeing him again? Just tell me,” she said and before he knew it; she had enveloped him in a hug. It felt good. The words wanted to stay unsaid, but that wouldn’t work.
“Do you still have the discs from that week?” he asked and her grip stiffened.
“What week?” she questioned as though she didn’t know exactly what week he meant.
“That week; the one where each disc is numbered one through seven,” Jack answered in a whisper.
“Oh, Jack,” Gwen said, shaking her head, “Why would you want those?”
“Just the one with Ianto,” he clarified and wasn’t sure he could make her understand. He didn’t completely understand himself.
“I just feel like I need to,” he continued, “Have you ever watched them?”
She shook her head again.
“I have so many ghosts…” Gwen uttered and let go of him, “You know what it’s like, even when their memory fades, another takes their place except for him. I always hear Ianto like yesterday.”
“For me, it helped that you changed the Hub so much,” Jack revealed, “I couldn’t make out where everything had happened.”
Her brown eyes looked toward the curtain that would show the whole Hub when opened.
“Remember when the five of us used to play basketball down below?” she asked with her arms crossed.
“Yes,” he replied but couldn’t make a smile, “Until Myfanwy stole the ball.”
He fiddled with his watch.
“Would it really help?” she asked, glancing back at him.
“I think it might,” he spoke, “Partly to reassure myself there was nothing I could have done and partly to remind myself what really did happen…the government’s version is so different.”
Gwen dumped some of the folders on the floor and sat on the edge of the desk
“I agreed to it,” she admitted with her palms on the polished wood and he sat back down in the chair, “They asked my permission and I agreed…as long as Torchwood would receive the same funding as it always had. I also give Rhi a little extra each month in her account. Between David and Mica, she probably needs it. They also expunged the records so you, Lois and Ianto were no longer guilty of treason. It also saved us being investigated.”
When put that way, he supposed it had been the right, professional thing to do although another thought occurred to him.
“Do you know what Mica is up to then?” he asked her.
“Hacking into not so secret government organizations? Oh, I’m quite aware,” Gwen replied, “She reminds me of myself a little bit. She’ll probably be seeing the change of roster any moment now. I get it though. She wants to know more about her uncle which is sweet, but I can’t have her knowing everything so I let her access certain things.”
“And you let Rhi read the Martyn book,” Jack added and she nodded.
“She kept asking me about him; about Torchwood…it seemed easier,” she spoke, “but it’s not like being there and actually seeing him driving a JCB into a military base or something.”
“I know. He would look like this mild-mannered man in a fine suit and then…it was almost like he became this whole other person,” he agreed and there was a knock at the door, “They’ve both mentioned how they wish they could see him like that.”
Gwen stood up and went to the door; opening it only halfway. He could just make out Lois’ head. Her hair was braided rather than the straight style she'd worn all those years ago.
“No one’s dead, that’s a good sign,” she commented with a nod towards Jack, “But Gwen, Rhys just called. The school said Ianto threw up and he has a temperature so he’s taking him home.”
“Then, I’ll be right there. You can reach me on my mobile,” said Gwen, taking her coat from a hook.
“He also said that you didn’t need to leave. He has it taken care of,” Lois spoke and the Welshwoman shook her head.
“No, he’s my child and he’s sick. He needs me,” she argued, “Just give us a moment and I’ll be right down.”
Lois nodded as though used to it and left. Gwen shut the door behind her before touching a red colored brick on the other on the other side of the hidden lift. Then, she twisted a framed picture of her current team, turned on the other lamp on her desk, opened the bottom drawer of the desk and turned the round turntable which sat his coral. It had grown a lot in the past seven years; maybe even as much as thirteen centimeters. When it had turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees, a section of the wall opened and she stepped into it. This was a big improvement on secure archives, he thought as he leaned his head to look. She hit a button inside and it closed behind her.
“Here it is, you should visit us when he gets better, I’d love to see that baby in person,” Gwen told him and held out a disc in a case with date marked on it, “and if you want someone to watch it with you, I…I can come.”
September 15th, 2010 or March 12th, 2017, Part Three
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-02-14 06:45 am (UTC)Love that you mentioned the coral. ;)
I am looking forward to more.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-23 05:18 am (UTC)Thank You
no subject
Date: 2010-02-14 09:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-23 05:19 am (UTC)