Fandomweekly Challenge 120 - In the dark
Jul. 28th, 2022 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
m_findlowTitle: In the dark
Fandom: Torchwood / Doctor Who
Characters: Jack, Ianto, The Doctor
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG.
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 120 - Technical difficulties at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly
fandomweeklySummary: Something is wrong with the TARDIS.
The TARDIS lights flickered and then went out, plunging its occupants into pitch black. There'd been no warning lights, no alarms of doom, just a complete stop as engines and power all came to a halt.
A few seconds later a single face became illuminated by light. 'You really ought to keep a torch around here,' Ianto said. 'Luckily, I keep my phone charged,' he added, switching the phone's camera light around so that it was shining on his two co-pilots. 'Is everyone okay?'
The Doctor waved off any concern. 'Fine. Fine.'
'I'm fine too,' Jack said, sidling towards his lover and staying close at his side.
'So… what just happened?'
'I dunno. Doc?' When he didn't get an immediate answer he turned back to 'Ianto, may I borrow this?' he asked, indicating the phone and carrying it over to the TARDIS main console, using it to illuminate the underside as the Doctor knelt underneath it, waving his sonic screwdriver. Jack took a look for himself, pulling open a panel and seeing nothing good. The TARDIS did not just randomly shut down without warning unless something was very wrong. He just wished he knew what that something was. She was like family. More wounded or sick than a piece of machinery suffering a malfunction or a glitch.
'I've got a bad feeling about this,' Jack murmured, shining the light on yet another panel that looked to have absolutely nothing wrong with it. He should know, he'd tinkered with it often enough he knew the workings like the back of his hand.
'It's not broken,' the Doctor insisted, loud enough for them both to hear.
'We're stranded, aren't we?' Ianto said. 'In the middle of empty time and space. A billion light years from anywhere or anyone. And here I was promising Rhi we'd be home for Christmas.'
'It's not broken, the Doctor repeated.
'We will be,' Jack assured him.
'Oh? Which one?' he replied deadpan. 'We've broken down someplace where my roadside assistance policy doesn't cover us.'
'It's not broken!' the Doctor repeated, his voice raised this time. 'It's just…' he waved at Jack, indicating he should provide the requisite alternative word.
Jack winced, thrown under the bus. 'Temporarily unresponsive to normal operating commands,' he offered, cringing even as he said it.
'That's broken. Pretty much the definition, I'd say.'
'Yes, okay it's broken!' the Doctor snapped.
'But we can fix it,' Jack promised.
Even in the muted darkness, Jack could see the look of skepticism etched all over Ianto's face. 'I've never felt the weight of so much well-founded doubt.'
'Ianto, you wound me! When have I ever let you down?'
'Oh, let me just go and get my collective journals. Are we at all pressed for time, or can I work through them chronologically and in full?'
'Okay, when have I ever really let you down?'
'Refer previous comment.'
'You're in good hands. You've got me and the Doc. Nobody knows this ship like we do.'
'Well, technically it's not a ship,' the Doctor interjected.
Jack leaned closer to him. 'You're not helping our cause,' he muttered through gritted teeth, trying to keep his reassuring smile in place for Ianto's benefit. 'It just might take a little bit to figure out the source of the problem,' Jack told his lover.
'Right.' He sounded unconvinced. 'I'd go make us all some coffee, but, you know… broken. And dark.'
The Doctor heaved a groan. 'Not broken! Permanently, anyway,' he replied. 'Just go do your clever suity thing elsewhere for a bit. Find a cryptic crossword to do somewhere. The TARDIS has a whole library of them. Let the adults sort this out.'
Jack caught the sardonic eye roll from his lover before feeling his way towards the door. 'Maybe I'll find a torch on my travels. Or just be lost forever in the vastness that is the TARDIS.'
Jack plucked his own phone from his pocket. 'So take mine,' he said, tossing it in Ianto's direction. 'Not as charged as yours but enough juice to call me if you need to.'
'Right then, I'll leave the brains trust to it.'
The Doctor waved. 'Bye bye,' then turned to Jack as they huddled under the console. 'Okay, we need to talk.'
'About the TARDIS being broken?'
'No, about your boyfriend.'
Jack frowned. 'Ianto? Why?'
'Because! It's been what, three months, and nothing I've done impresses him. And I'm an impressive guy. Twelve hundred years of brilliance. But your boyfriend… I showed him the TARDIS tearoom and he asked where the coffee was.'
'We drink a lot of coffee. It's kind of our thing.'
'We went to Barcelona - the planet Barcelona! - and he was disappointed he couldn't practice his Spanish because no one spoke it.'
Jack squirmed. 'Well, I mean, it is a bit of a valid assumption to make.'
'Seriously, is there anything that impresses him?'
Jack shrugged. 'He's Welsh. Show them something fabulous and they find fault. It's just what they do.'
The Doctor grumbled. 'Must be why I've never had Welsh companions. Now, shine that torch in there.'
Jack manoeuvred his hand but the phone's light suddenly blinked out. 'Uh oh.'
'Did you break it?'
'No, the power just completely drained from it.'
'Oh, so much for Mister "I keep my phone charged." The Doctor threw quotation mark fingers around the sentence, indicating his barely concealed jealousy.
Jack might have laughed in other circumstances. 'Except it was fully charged. What about your screwdriver?'
He listened and heard the Doctor tapping it against his hand. Like Ianto's phone, it too no longer glowed. 'Ah. So something draining power from anything in proximity.'
'And I just sent Ianto into the bowels of the TARDIS with my phone, which is probably just as dead now.' He cleared his throat, trying to dispel any concern. 'But, it's the TARDIS, a totally safe place to be and Ianto can handle himself.'
'Not always,' the Doctor replied.
'So, figure it out,' Jack demanded. 'Right now I need you to be impressive.'
The TARDIS lights flickered and then went out, plunging its occupants into pitch black. There'd been no warning lights, no alarms of doom, just a complete stop as engines and power all came to a halt.
A few seconds later a single face became illuminated by light. 'You really ought to keep a torch around here,' Ianto said. 'Luckily, I keep my phone charged,' he added, switching the phone's camera light around so that it was shining on his two co-pilots. 'Is everyone okay?'
The Doctor waved off any concern. 'Fine. Fine.'
'I'm fine too,' Jack said, sidling towards his lover and staying close at his side.
'So… what just happened?'
'I dunno. Doc?' When he didn't get an immediate answer he turned back to 'Ianto, may I borrow this?' he asked, indicating the phone and carrying it over to the TARDIS main console, using it to illuminate the underside as the Doctor knelt underneath it, waving his sonic screwdriver. Jack took a look for himself, pulling open a panel and seeing nothing good. The TARDIS did not just randomly shut down without warning unless something was very wrong. He just wished he knew what that something was. She was like family. More wounded or sick than a piece of machinery suffering a malfunction or a glitch.
'I've got a bad feeling about this,' Jack murmured, shining the light on yet another panel that looked to have absolutely nothing wrong with it. He should know, he'd tinkered with it often enough he knew the workings like the back of his hand.
'It's not broken,' the Doctor insisted, loud enough for them both to hear.
'We're stranded, aren't we?' Ianto said. 'In the middle of empty time and space. A billion light years from anywhere or anyone. And here I was promising Rhi we'd be home for Christmas.'
'It's not broken, the Doctor repeated.
'We will be,' Jack assured him.
'Oh? Which one?' he replied deadpan. 'We've broken down someplace where my roadside assistance policy doesn't cover us.'
'It's not broken!' the Doctor repeated, his voice raised this time. 'It's just…' he waved at Jack, indicating he should provide the requisite alternative word.
Jack winced, thrown under the bus. 'Temporarily unresponsive to normal operating commands,' he offered, cringing even as he said it.
'That's broken. Pretty much the definition, I'd say.'
'Yes, okay it's broken!' the Doctor snapped.
'But we can fix it,' Jack promised.
Even in the muted darkness, Jack could see the look of skepticism etched all over Ianto's face. 'I've never felt the weight of so much well-founded doubt.'
'Ianto, you wound me! When have I ever let you down?'
'Oh, let me just go and get my collective journals. Are we at all pressed for time, or can I work through them chronologically and in full?'
'Okay, when have I ever really let you down?'
'Refer previous comment.'
'You're in good hands. You've got me and the Doc. Nobody knows this ship like we do.'
'Well, technically it's not a ship,' the Doctor interjected.
Jack leaned closer to him. 'You're not helping our cause,' he muttered through gritted teeth, trying to keep his reassuring smile in place for Ianto's benefit. 'It just might take a little bit to figure out the source of the problem,' Jack told his lover.
'Right.' He sounded unconvinced. 'I'd go make us all some coffee, but, you know… broken. And dark.'
The Doctor heaved a groan. 'Not broken! Permanently, anyway,' he replied. 'Just go do your clever suity thing elsewhere for a bit. Find a cryptic crossword to do somewhere. The TARDIS has a whole library of them. Let the adults sort this out.'
Jack caught the sardonic eye roll from his lover before feeling his way towards the door. 'Maybe I'll find a torch on my travels. Or just be lost forever in the vastness that is the TARDIS.'
Jack plucked his own phone from his pocket. 'So take mine,' he said, tossing it in Ianto's direction. 'Not as charged as yours but enough juice to call me if you need to.'
'Right then, I'll leave the brains trust to it.'
The Doctor waved. 'Bye bye,' then turned to Jack as they huddled under the console. 'Okay, we need to talk.'
'About the TARDIS being broken?'
'No, about your boyfriend.'
Jack frowned. 'Ianto? Why?'
'Because! It's been what, three months, and nothing I've done impresses him. And I'm an impressive guy. Twelve hundred years of brilliance. But your boyfriend… I showed him the TARDIS tearoom and he asked where the coffee was.'
'We drink a lot of coffee. It's kind of our thing.'
'We went to Barcelona - the planet Barcelona! - and he was disappointed he couldn't practice his Spanish because no one spoke it.'
Jack squirmed. 'Well, I mean, it is a bit of a valid assumption to make.'
'Seriously, is there anything that impresses him?'
Jack shrugged. 'He's Welsh. Show them something fabulous and they find fault. It's just what they do.'
The Doctor grumbled. 'Must be why I've never had Welsh companions. Now, shine that torch in there.'
Jack manoeuvred his hand but the phone's light suddenly blinked out. 'Uh oh.'
'Did you break it?'
'No, the power just completely drained from it.'
'Oh, so much for Mister "I keep my phone charged." The Doctor threw quotation mark fingers around the sentence, indicating his barely concealed jealousy.
Jack might have laughed in other circumstances. 'Except it was fully charged. What about your screwdriver?'
He listened and heard the Doctor tapping it against his hand. Like Ianto's phone, it too no longer glowed. 'Ah. So something draining power from anything in proximity.'
'And I just sent Ianto into the bowels of the TARDIS with my phone, which is probably just as dead now.' He cleared his throat, trying to dispel any concern. 'But, it's the TARDIS, a totally safe place to be and Ianto can handle himself.'
'Not always,' the Doctor replied.
'So, figure it out,' Jack demanded. 'Right now I need you to be impressive.'
