Who: Martha Jones and Ianto Jones, open to torchwood charies after initial back and forth. What: A lull between Alien incidents When: Evening, May 9, 2011 Where: Torchwood Hub Why: Because I say so! Status: See who
Myfanwy swooped down, finding a perch somewhere halfway to the ceiling, and Martha for the life of her couldn't help but watch the prehistoric animal, craning her neck backwards over the arm of the couch she and her friend were spread out on. The last several days had seen a rash of weevles on the loose. And that meant it had fallen to them to chase them down. The last several weeks had seen the return of Tosh, since she'd taken the bullet out and they'd gotten their friend back into the fold. All in all a lot had gone on with very little time to decompress.
Martha's head lolled to the side, letting it fall onto her shoulder, leaning against the back of the couch, the coffee in her hand carefully balanced. She adjusted her legs on top of the person whom she was using as a leg rest, and let out a sigh. "I always get nervous when we have a lull like this," she said looking over at Ianto. "Was this way when I was traveling with the Doctor too... When it gets too quiet, it means that the next big thing is preparing itself somewhere out there." The doctor rolled her shoulder, trying to loosen it up. She smiled lazily, realizing that this was probably a bad attitude to have. But there was always the next thing. Right? This was supposed to be a time for relaxing, not pessimism.
Ianto had done a lot of running around the last few weeks. A lot of which had been with Jack and Martha, trapping and relocating them, having to kill a few. He was enjoying this down time greatly. He enjoyed it more than he had someone to enjoy it with. Opening his eyes, he rolled his head over to look at Martha and grinned.
"I think you're thinking about this to much," Ianto whispered, his hand moving out to rub her leg. "This is what we call a break after a long day and we like those. Running around crazy all the time only makes a person mental." Any minute the alarms could go off for more Weevils attacking people or ending up where they weren't suppose to be.
Ianto didn't want to think about what the next big thing could be. He liked calm and quiet. Maybe not all the time, but right now it was his favorite thing in the whole world. Closing his eyes, he moved his head back on the couch.
It wasn't the first time it had been suggested that Martha thought too much. Especially after something that was traumatic or stressful had occurred. In fact it had only gotten worse since the incident with the Skrull, becuase she still didn't have answers about that. But she did her very best to turn it off. It helped having 'her boys' close.
Her boys. It was a recent title. But to her it fit. Of course she hadn't told them that. Not yet anyway. Soon, but not yet. The opportunity would soon present itself. OF this she was certain.
Finishing her coffee and putting the cup on the table next to the couch, Martha shot Ianto a smile, changing the position of her torso again, so she was more comfortable, noticing that his eyes were closed. "Let no one say you aren't a good teacher, Mister Jones," she said, rather cheekily but with good humor. "I suppose that we've had so few of them recently that I simply forgot what they felt like."
She reached over and squeezed his shoulder on a pressure point, holding it for a moment in order to relieve the stress that was visible to her in his them. Sometimes being a medical doctor had its advantages.
Ianto laughed softly, eyebrows raised. However when Martha squeezed his shoulder he hissed. How could something feel good, but not good at the same time. It was his bummed shoulder and after this last time, it was still rather sore sometimes. Ahh, the many wounds and scars of working for Torchwood. They all had their collection of Weevil bits, bullet holes, bumps and bruises, stitches.
He opened his eyes and glanced at her, carefully moving his shoulder from her grasp. "Not that shoulder," he winced, rubbing it. Then again, carrying around Weevils all day couldn't have helped it. He was a mess, this he was totally aware of.
Ianto pat her legs so she could move them. He needed a refill on his coffee and to escape before she went all doctor on him. It was nice, well canoodling with her and Jack, because he got the side of her that wasn't just work and being a doctor. He also got to see fun, happy Martha that liked shopping, loved her family and looked amazing in nothing but her undies.
Martha frowned at the reaction. Not because of the reaction, but because of the fact that it had been necessary to react like that. Then again it could have been the weather outside that was causing him trouble. But still, it should have felt better by now... at least that was the theory.
Before she could say anything, ask him any questions he got up. A rather smart move. After all he knew her, and truth be told it was obvious where her mind would go. She was a doctor, even though she let the technical expertise fall to the wayside more often than not, if there was a problem... Well they all knew where she went.
She waited a moment before picking up her own mug and followed him. Except she didn't say anything. Instead she picked up a cloth that was sitting from the laundry earlier and placed it under semi-hot water before walking back over to him and smiling - mixing herself a new mug of coffee too and held the cloth out to him, not saying anything.
Ianto rolled his shoulder as he waited for the pot to finish brewing. He stirred in his spoonful of sugar, only half paying attention to what she was up to. But then she was handing him a wet wash cloth and his eyebrow raised in confusion. "Trying to tell me something?" he asked, looking back up at her.
"Martha, I'm fine. It's just sore still. Will be for a little while, yeah? I mean a damn building fell on me twice. That warrents it to be, right?" Ianto smiled and kissed her on the cheek, before he made his way back downstairs to his desk, refreshing the page to make sure nothing new had popped up on them. So far, all was quiet on the western front.
Martha could understand his reluctance. After all, the last few weeks, she'd been paying extra attention to that shoulder of his. Sometimes more time with it than actually with Ianto or Jack. Why? Because although it was sore, she was worried there could be some tissue damage that hadn't shown up on the scans, and if untreated that it could be too late. But thus far there had been nothing. Still... she was tenacious. One had to give her that.
Finishing her own coffee she followed him back to his desk with a roll of her eyes. Insert medical of any kind and he rushed back to his desk, as if to say 'I can work, I'm not injured that badly.' But still, she knew it would help. Martha put her coffee down and leaned against the desk, crossing her legs at her ankles, the cloth still in hand. "I would say doctor's orders, but after all this I don't think you'd listen," her cheeks rising in a smile, again rather cheeky. "Just put it on for a few minutes. If you do I promise no more doctoring for the rest of the day." She winked at him and held it out. It would just be a few minutes. It would take the edge off. "Also, what ya doing checking the computers," she would have dragged him away if it weren't for his shoulder. "I don't think we were done enjoying the lull." She grinned, looking over his shoulder. There was nothing new. The Rift had thankfully been quiet today.
"Depends on what you're ordering me to do," he grinned over at her, clicking away at his computer. "You say that, but I know you to well. A few minutes turns into an hour and then you're asking me to do all those jumping jacks with it again so you can have a better look. Before I know if I'm shirtless and you're prodding at me. I'll take some tylenol and be fine," he said moving back from his work.
"I was just checking. Always good to have a check every now and then, back up the system." Ianto took another sip of his coffee. It was just the right temperature now. He could see Martha wasn't going to let this up, even though she was 'trying' to.
"You're gonna tattle on me to Jack, aren't you?" he said, putting the mug back down and folded his arms over his chest.
At his comment Martha couldn't help but smirk, "You say it as if you shirtless is a bad thing." Admittedly, she shouldn't have been that amused - especially given the face he was now wearing, but she was. And she knew that he'd been taking pain killers regularly, but those things were bad for your liver. She made a mental note to get something as effective but without that little side affect...
She was actually a little bit surprised at his question. Of course she could understand why he'd think that but in this case it was completely wrong. "Of course not," she said it seriously, firmly. "For all intents and purposes, we are talking about your case. I'm bound by patient confidentiality." Admittedly if Jack did that thing with his tongue on her neck she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't say something if he asked, but she knew he wouldn't. "Ten minutes, that's all I'm asking. Then it’s over. And you can go back to pretending that you're not in pain." She was trying to keep it light hearted. "And I will be pulling you back to the couch once that backup is done," in the meantime she pulled over one of the rolling chairs, but instead of sitting in it, she perched herself on the side of his desk, and used the chair for her feet to rest on, just watching him work. It was rather peaceful.
Ianto sighed, looking back at the screen and then to her. "It's not that bad," he said, taking his coat off and laid it over the chair. He undid his vest and a few of the buttons on his shirt, taking his tie off and let it lay on his desk. He took the cloth from Martha and tucked it under shis shirt so it would rest on his shoulder and he sighed. It was more relief then anything else. The warm felt good on it. It had been bugging him since the other day when he and Jack dragged a few Weevils downstairs to the holding cell.
He was only 24, when did he get to be this banged up? Seasoned. Owen had referred to it as that once a very long time ago. He didn't want to be broken. Broken meant time off which meant sitting and being worthless, which meant people fussing and worrying over you. And what if Jack didn't want someone that was broken? Well that was silly. Jack would never give up on him for something that wasn't his fault. Now he was the one over thinking things.
Ianto didn't even realize he'd closed his eyes again, but soon enough they were open, looking at Martha. "I don't want him to worry about me. I just want to be back to my old self again." He'd barely gotten to enjoy being 24. Eight months of that year were gone and he'd be 25 soon...
"Too late for that. I always worry about you guys," the familiar American voice chimed in. Admittedly, he worried about them more than ever after what had happened with Grey and John Hart. Not to mention Ianto's disappearance and reappearance months later.
Jack's hands were tucked into the pockets of his trousers, pushing back the sides of his greatcoat as he sstrode across the Hub towards them. He noted Ianto's current state of dress (or was it undress?) and smiled playfully.
"Don't tell me I already missed naked hide and seek?" he teased them.
Martha had moved slightly as if to comfort Ianto, to tell him that he would get back to his old self... it just took some time. Admittedly she had thought for quite a while now that they needed to look into a counciler - perhaps not on staff, but on retainer - because some of the things they saw were just... that bad. The two of them were the same age, She'd be turning in January. And for their ages, they had seen things. Things that should be impossible. But they weren't. It was something that was both a blessing and a curse. And while she loved Jack dearly, she sometimes wondered if he understood that. Or if he was slightly jaded. It didn't really matter, but she did need to see if one of her more trustworthy collegues - one who had been there the day her training hospital had gone to the Moon - would be willing to act as their consultant when needed...
Yes she'd been about to do that, but Jack's voice had cut her off before she'd had the time to do anything but place a comforting hand on his arm - very careful to avoid his shoulder. Shooting Ianto an understanding smile, she'd make certain they spoke about this later, she turned her head slightly and smiled at Jack. "Doing that without you? Perish the thought, we all know you'd be very unhappy with that." Admittedly she knew that her reply didn't reflect the seriousness or at least the former emotion of the situation, but it would be there later. She could understand just how hard this was.
Ianto straightened up when Jack appeared, shaking his head. He couldn't help but smile at Jack's words and Martha's. "I was just getting ready for a round of it," he joked, taking the towel out to sit on his desk as he started to put himself back together. "But then I thought if I changed right here, it would give away the hiding spot. Plus everyone else could walk in and want to play and that's when things get complicated."
Ianto fixed his tie and put his vest back on, clearing his throat as he shrugged it over his shoulders. He moved to Jack and kissed his cheek. "Coffee?" Might as well go about business as usual, but something told him Jack might have heard their conversation.
That was when Gwen returned from a pizza run, having taken it to give Ianto a breather. Plus it was an excuse to touch base with Andy to check on a few things along with checking on a young woman the Rift had dropped into their time. "Pizzas here!" she called from the entryway,"Also picked up some extra chocolate for Myfanwy." setting the baggie with the bars atop a desk.
"Coffee would be great, thanks." Jack quickly relieved Gwen of the pizza boxes and smirked over his shoulder as he headed off towards the board room with the food.
"Thanks for this! So what're you guys having?" he joked.
Martha rolled her eyes, shooting a look at Ianto. She picked up the formerly warm cloth and threw it into the sink. "Well if you're going to hog all of it, I could just whip up some bacon for Ianto and I," she glanced over beforfe added, "And you too Gwen."
The playful look on Martha's face was actually kind of subtle. Just one of the things that came with teasing Jack about everything. She grabbed her mug - now empty again and put it next to the sink. She'd wash it later, grabbing plates, looking between her two boys. Part of her wondered just how long until Gwen and the others got an inkling of what was going on.
Ianto had gotten good at ignoring the looks that Martha could give. If he reacted to everyone, he'd just be a nervous wreck. Wondering if everyone saw them, that they thought it might mean. Ianto didn't like a whole lot of attention on himself, even when it was in his friends circle.
He took a fresh mug down from then cabinet and poured his boss a fresh cup, passing it off to him. "Just remember Jack, a real lady always leaves something on her plate," he smirked. He squeezed Jack's arm, moving to his desk to pick up a few folders to sort and put away.
"Good thing I'm not a lady then," Jack replied back with a smirk. He set the pizza boxes on the boardroom table and dropped down onto his chair, snagging a slice of meat feast. As he ate, he glanced over at Martha and winked.
"Besides... we all know that Gwen, Martha, and Tosh can pack away the food when they're all hungry," he teased. "And I consider all of them real ladies."
Martha grinned and brought the plates over. "Well at least we know where you stand then, Jack." She sat down with a smirk. "Hard to be a proper lady when half the time you find yourself covered in alien slime or worse." She reached across and moved some leftover papers off the table. Last thing she wanted was the reports of the last big Weevle migration to get sauce on them. Most of them had enough trouble reading it to begin with. It wasn't exactly thrilling literature.
She had to admit that the hub was much more alive now that Ianto was back. He (and Owen for that matter) were what had been missing for so long. It was - in a way - like part of the color had returned to the painting. This almost being a family dinner of sorts. "On the other hand, I think we'd be rather useless if we were proper ladies. Always hated those damsels in distress in the cinema," she chuckled, moving over so Ianto could have the seat closer to him on jack's other side.
Ianto was greatful she had moved and leaned over Jack to take a piece of pizza, before he grinned and started to eat. Ianto was glad he wasn't a lady either, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. Tucking a napkin into his shirt so he wouldn't be covered in grease, he continued to eat his dinner, all the while pretending that everything was fine.
Martha said she wouldn't say anything and Ianto wanted to give it a bit more time to heal before he started to worry. Maybe it was all in his head and he was just paranoid that it was hurting. Or maybe Martha was right and he was past wearing a sling. Ianto was good at having these conversations with himself, all the while on the outside he looked extremely interested in what everyone was talking about.
Jack leaned back in his chair and propper his boots up on the edge of the table while he ate. He flashed that infamous Harkness grin over at them before telling Martha, "Proper ladies are over rated anyways. Trust me on this... when they're not out in public? They're not very proper. Besides... I've always preferred people who just act like themselves and don't have a hidden agenda."
He stretched an arm out to snag a second piece for himself and took a bite. "If you're a proper anything, you're not good Companion material," Jack said, his mouth full of pizza. "They'd never be able to handle all the running and fun."
Speaking of ladies... Martha held back a chuckle at Jack's relaxed position. It was very him. But it was true. And she knew it. THough admittedly she'd found some rather ladylike costumes in the TARDIS wardrobe a few times. Something that looked like it would have been terrible for running around in. Corsets and bustles. Must have been for 'undercover' work, as she liked to put it.
She grabbed another piece and put it on her plate, getting up and applying some spices, looking over her shoulder at the three at the table. "The sad thing is, even when you're s'pposed to be hiding or on vacation you wind up running." Her mind flashed back to Farringham and 1913. "Always wondered how he got away with it, never dressing for the era we were in," She remembered back to the encounter with Shakespeare and shook her head, a small smile appearing on her lips. She had an idea. "Hey Ianto," she smiled slightly. "You've never been in the TARDIS, have you?" Yes. This was a good idea. She glanced over at Gwen, asking her the same question. Gwen shook her head in response.
Ianto was halfway through his second piece when he looked up to what she was asking. "The TARDIS? No. That was you and Jack's thing. I've seen it plenty of times, records and the like, the stories Jack told me about all the hidden rooms and the pool. But I've never traveled back in time. Well, back in time in the TARDIS." The Rift had done that just fine for him. "Dunno what I'd want to go back and see to be honest. Number of things I'd like to go back and stop, but you're not allowed to change time."
He continued on his piece of pizza, wondering just what Martha was getting at. "Um, I'm not... I get space sick. Not sure I'd want to time travel," he said looking over at Martha and then back to Jack.
"No one from Torchwood except for you and me has been in the TARDIS," Jack commented offhandedly to Martha. He looked over at Ianto and quirked an eyebrow, fighting back a laugh. "Space sick... and when was the last time you were in space, Ianto Jones?"
He continued smirking as he devoured the second slice and reached for a third. If there was one thing Jack Harkness could do, it was pack away the food with the best of them. Especially pizza.
"I think you'd like it." Martha had known the answer to the question, she was hoping that Jack would follow her line of thought, and she was glad to see that he had. Maybe they could get him inside the next time the Doctor was around.
"One thing I don't think anyone gets in the TARDIS is space sick," she said thinking back. "Sometimes when you GET to your destinations, and..." she trailed off glancing at Ianto, "Well there is when he tries to redirect or land," she rolled her eyes.
She took another sip from her glass and nodded in agreement, Ianto would enjoy it. She was sure of it. Even if they didn't go anywhere...
"Perhaps if I did it the correct way. Didn't much enjoy the last time I traveled through time, or dimensions, or whatever the hell that was," Ianto said. He wasn't all that hungry anymore, but he finished with his piece of pizza and grabbed a napkin to wipe his hands off with.
"I'm a fan of my feet being on the ground right now. Enjoy my own time for a bit." He didn't feel like he did that enough to begin with. He spent his days working all the time and chasing weevils. Getting up he stretched, regretting it as soon as he did, folding his hands behind his head. "Anyone need some more coffee? Napkins? New shirt?" Ianto said, seeing the grease start to drip from the slice Jack had.
Jack rolled his eyes and moved his hand forward so the grease would fall into his plate instead. "Ha ha, very funny. Seriously though, I think you'd like it. Martha's right. So the next time we manage to track the Doctor down, we'll give you a tour of the TARDIS."
Ianto - as far as she could tell - was trying for avoidance, but she could understand it. He'd spent so much time in that other past... Still it was something that everyone (at least one of them) should do once. And Martha was tempted to get a book from the TARDIS library too.
"You really won't regret it," she assured. "It's the type of thing that you have to see for yourself." She also didn't want him to feel as if he was missing out on anything. She adored Ianto, really she did. And the truth was that the TARDIS would blow his mind! She was sure of it!
"The problem with this plan though is that we need to get the Doctor to actually turn up. And then manage to get Ianto inside the TARDIS," Jack pointed out to her.
"As for taking an actual trip, you know how the Doctor is. Plan to go to one place and time, but then end up someplace completely different. The old girl has a mind of her own sometimes."
"Who said I was going in the TARDIS?" Ianto laughed shaking his head. "I'll go in it, but I'm not taking some maybe trip." As long as Martha or Jack were with him it sounded pretty fun.
"No regrets," he said leaning down to kiss Martha, before he pulled back. Gwen looked like she was about to drop her slice of pizza. Didn't she know? How could she not know the three of them were spending more time together. Keeping his cool, he kissed Jack as well, before he kissed her cheek.
"Well then. Archives, messy, calling my name." Ianto gave a short nod, before he stepped away from the group to go and hide.
"It's not so much as you take a trip, more like the TARDIS decides it wants to take you somewhere and you go," she said impishly, remembering several instances when She'd taken them places on her own. "Or you find yourself on the end of a Weeping Angel and wind up in 1969 and have to get a job in a chip shop to support a tinkering Alien."
Martha hadn't minded, she responded to the kiss, smiling a bit as he pulled back. Then remembered that Gwen hadn't been entirely brought into the loop yet. She held back a laugh, a chuckle as she watched Gwen's reaction. They probably should tell her. But then again... She intuitive one - the one who reminded them to pop their heads up every now and then, as Jack had described her...
Martha watched Ianto walk away and glanced over at Jack. Then at Gwen and she shrugged her shoulders causally with a smile. Nothing there to be ashamed of or hide really. Not at all.
And Jack didn't say a word. He finished his lunch and was doing his level best to ignore the way Gwen was staring at all of the (especially him). It looked like she was ready to explode with questions, but was having a hall of a time resisting.
Jack got up and leaned over, giving Martha a quick kiss. "Gotta run... you girls have fun and I'll catch up with you later."
Martha's eyes widened slightly as she kissed Jack back. Not because of the kiss, but because she realized that he was leaving. He was leaving her alone with a question-filled Gwen. Oh this did not bode well for her, and she knew it. Muttering the word 'traitor' under her breath.
She just had to hope she could find an out. Maybe she'd just clean up from lunch now... No. Gwen didn't seem to look like she'd be letting Martha go now. She'd just have to avoid any specifics...
When she caught up to her boys... oh there would be trouble.