Torchwood: Fanfic: Medical mixup

[m_findlow]

Title: Medical mixup
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Torchwood team
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 3,266 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for peaceful_sands's prompt "Any, any, Don't look at me like that, it was an honest mistake" at fic_promptly
Summary: One of the team gets an unexpected diagnosis that changes everything

No one liked Owen's monthly medical checkups, but they all begrudgingly let him have his way, poking them and prodding them until he was satisfied that none of them had contracted anything alien. Nine times out of ten they all came back with a clean bill of health, and nothing more than a slap on the wrist if they weren't getting enough sleep or eating properly. Even Jack didn't get a hall pass, on the basis that whilst nothing might kill him, he could be a carrier for something that could affect the rest of the team.

Owens tests were standardised, yet thorough, covering the all of the basics, height and weight, physical exam, blood samples, and full body scans. One of the benefits of working for an organisation with alien tech was that you occasionally had items that made your job easier. Their medical scanner was one such marvel. All you had to do was place your hand on its surface and the machine would run a scan of every bone, blood cell and organ, displaying the results via projection on the tiled wall of the autopsy bay. Most of the time it was run of the mill, boring stuff, but occasionally Jack provided entertainment for the team, when his body scans showed up odd bits where they shouldn't be. Sometimes healing wasn't a perfect science, and things got in the way when his tissues rebuilt themselves, ignoring anything that got in their way. Most of the time it was harmless things, like paperclips or bits of wood, but once he'd somehow managed to heal his entire lower torso around a squashed soda can, which was plain for all to see in his scan. To everyone's amusement, they could even make out the exact brand and flavour.

Like all things though, anything alien and complicated needed to be operated with care.

Owen had been chasing the team around the hub all morning, trying to get them assessed and on their way again. No one enjoyed them particulary, so they'd all made various excuses not to be the next on his list. It didn't help that they'd been busy trying to deal with random power surges that had the lights and computers all blinking intermittently, though the problem seemed to be fixed for now. Eventually though, he'd cornered them all except for Ianto.

'No more hiding, Teaboy. Get your kit off and let's get this over with.'

Ianto just rolled his eyes and complied, letting Owen get on with his job.

'Alright, last bit,' Owen announced, wheeling the scanner over. 'What's for lunch?' he asked, whilst Ianto nonchalantly placed his palm on the glass.

'The cafe around the corner has just started serving soup. I thought I might give it a go with some sandwiches.'

The lights in the hub flickered again and both of them let out a groan of frustration.

'I thought you'd fixed them?' Owen said.

'So did I,' he grumbled, sitting up to rebutton his shirt

'We're not done here yet.'

'I can go and take a look,' Tosh sang out.

'Thanks Tosh,' Owen yelled back. 'Sit down,' he ordered, and Ianto flopped back down onto the bench, placing his hand back on the scanner.

Owen was about to put in his own request for sandwich fillngs, when the machine began to blip angrily, flashing a projection up on the wall.

'Is that what my brain looks like?' he quipped, studying the picture. 'You keep telling me I'm crazy, but now I understand why.'

Owen's face was inscrutable as he looked at the images himself. Everywhere was a maze of stringy fibres, clustered tightly in some places, and branching out in all directions.

'No, that's not possible,' he muttered, eyes still glued to the images.

'What is it?' Ianto said, sounding worried and darting his gaze between Owen and the images on the wall.

'This is bad.'

'How bad?'

'Wait here. I need to get Jack.'

Oh, Ianto thought, that bad.

There was something growing in Ianto's brain. Something big, and it was everywhere. One look at the scans had told him all he needed to know, but he'd run the scan again, just to be sure. Whatever it was, it hadn't been there before.

The longer they sat there, listening to Owen's explanations, the tighter Jack's hand grew around his own. Eventually his eyes began to water, though he couldn't tell if it was because he was upset at Jack's obvious anxiety, or simply that the vice like grip on his hand had become more than he could bear.

'What will happen?' Jack asked the question that Ianto hadn't yet brought himself to voice.

'It's hard to tell,' Owen said slowly. 'Best case scenario it'll continue to grow, impinging on the neural pathways, affecting various functions; motor skills, speech, memory, cognitive abilities. At some point they'll break down critical pathways, causing you to slip into a comatose state. After that it's just a matter of time before the organs fail. Your unconscious ability to breathe on your own will probably go before it gets to that stage. We can put you on a respirator, but that just buys us some time.'

Ianto swallowed hard. 'And worst case?'

Owen paused, almost unwilling to say it. 'Worst case, there's a sudden surge of growth, impacting your central nervous cortex, rupturing blood vessels in the brain. Death would be instantaneous.'

'Well, that doesn't sound good,' Ianto said, shocked at his own calmness. 'How long?'

'Days, weeks...'

'Minutes,' Ianto added.

Owen's nodding was enough to confirm that could well be the case.

He sucked in a long breath. 'Well, nothing to be done for it then, I suppose.'

'No,' Jack argued. 'There must be something. The singularity scalpel.'

'Already thought of that,' Owen replied. 'This thing has got its claws in just about everywhere.'

'We've used it before and got it to work.'

'This is different,' Owen said.

'How is this different?' Jack said, his tone growing annoyed.

'We're not talking about sucking a soda can out of your lower intestine. Even with the best training in the world I don't think I could attempt it without causing serious damage.'

'Then find something else!'

Jack finally let go of Ianto's hand and stormed up the stairs of the autopsy bay without another word, too distraught to stay a minute longer, and not wanting anyone to see how much this sudden development was tearing him up.

Owen came over and placed a placating hand on Ianto's shoulder. 'I'm sorry, mate. I really am.'

'Me too.'

When Jack didn't return for several hours, it was Ianto who went to go and find him.

There were only a handful of places he'd go, and one was far more likely than the rest. If Jack was going to be anywhere, he'd be at the top of the tallest building in Cardiff.

True to form, Ianto pushed open the fire escape door and found Jack standing there, right on the very edge of the dizzying precipice, letting the strong winds gust about him, catching in the folds of his coat, threatening to pitch him many hundreds of feet to the pavement below.

'I wish you wouldn't stand so close to the edge,' he said, still making sure he was standing a careful few feet from the edge himself.

'Would you hate me if I threw myself off?' Jack asked.

'I'd understand why,' he replied.

Jack stood there in silence for several minutes, his gaze he never leaving the vista in front of him.

Ianto crossed his arms, growing impatient. 'Are you coming back or not?' I could've dropped off the perch whilst you'd been gone.'

Jack whipped around, quickly closing the distance between them, and grabbed him hard by the arms, looking furious.

'Don't say that!'

'It's true, though,' he replied, his face a mask of placid acceptance. In the few hours that Jack had been gone, the reality of it all had finally sunk in for him. The others had given him a wide berth, letting him have some time to process, and he'd taken it gladly, attending to the sorts of mindless tasks in the archives that he always did when he needed to clear his head. He was grateful to the rest of the team for being understanding. Angry and upset were pointless feelings to have, he'd decided. Instead all he felt was the great sadness that came with knowing that the moment they'd both dreaded for so long was finally about to come and meet them. At least this way they might have a chance to say goodbye properly.

'I could die any minute, and here you are feeling sorry for yourself.'

'Let's pray it doesn't come to that. There's still time.'

'Better if it were sudden, than slowly regressing into a vegetative state,' he said.

If it came down to it, he decided he didn't want to prolong the suffering for the others. A good quick death would be easier for everyone to come to terms with. And he really didn't fancy watching himself lose the ability to function properly. He kept telling himself that it wasn't unselfish to want that.

'You don't mean that,' Jack said, his face contorting as it struggled to hold any single one emotion in place.

'I do.'

Jack cupped his cheek, ingoring the tear running down his own.

'You've still got so much life ahead of you.'

'It's Torchwood. My days were always numbered. We both know that. At least it will be painless.'

'For you maybe.' Jack sniffed loudly, hugging Ianto tightly to him.

'I'm not ready to let you go,' he said, nuzzling against his neck.

'That's the problem,' Ianto said, hugging back. 'You never will be.'

The team took the news in the best way they could. Both Gwen and Tosh had been in tears, which made him feel awful, but he tried to reassure them both as best he could that there was nothing anyone could do, and that he intended to keep going until the end, enjoying as much of their time together as possible. Owen too had taken the news hard, even more so being their doctor, and feeling utterly helpless to fix the problem. All he knew was that he could promise to make Ianto's last few moments as comfortable and dignified as possible, whatever might happen.

Overall, Jack took the news much as Ianto had expected. At first he was all laughs and jokes, trying to pretend that everything was going to be okay, then he turned broody and silent, angry at the world and anyone else who got too close or got in his way at the wrong moment. Ianto knew he'd reached the end of his emotional tether when he came to find him down in the archives, using the muffled excuse that he wanted to make sure Ianto was okay. That was the last thing he said before pushing Ianto forcefully up against the wall, taking him then and there in a fury filled passion. It was rough, and not entirely pleasant from Ianto's point of view, but he let Jack do it anyway. He needed this outlet for his frustration. He couldn't always share what he felt and put it into words, but his actions spoke louder than words ever could.

Days melted into weeks, and the team fell back into familiar patterns, almost forgetting that Ianto had become a ticking time bomb, though somehow Jack was always there, constantly reminding him, as if saying it would help him come to accept it in his own mind. He barely slept, afraid that when he woke, Ianto might be gone.

Only once did they fight about it, when Ianto had foolishly rushed back inside a collapsing building, attempting to rescue the man they'd had to leave behind, who'd been too badly injured to make it out under his own steam. They'd already a carried out as many people as they could, accepting that his injuries were probably so grave that he wouldn't make it. Somehow, miraculously Ianto had dragged him out before the remainder of the building came toppling down just moments after.

Jack was fuming with him for taking such a risk, and even more enraged when Ianto used the excuse that he had nothing left to lose. He might have been a dead man walking, but Jack wasn't going to let him go out with a bang, no matter what.

After a month, even Ianto was surprised he was still here, having felt no ill effects from his cranial tenant since being diagnosed. Perhaps it was dormant, and might stay that way for a while yet, or perhaps he'd be dead before he could finish the thought. All the while, Owen kept giving him regular scans, but every time they came back the same, with no change to his condition.

He was quietly working away at his desk one morning, whilst the others were subjected to yet another monthly medical examination from Owen. Well, there's one thing I don't miss, he thought ruefully, almost wishing he did. A full medical exam seemed pretty pointless when he was already standing on the threshold of death's door.

Gwen was the first unlucky soul, and Owen seemed to be in fine form this morning, his bedside manner even worse than usual.

'Oh my God,' he heard Gwen say, loud and clear. Curiosity got the better of him as he came over to see what was happening. He'd hoped it was the "oh my God" usually associated with having a baby. Instead he saw the image on the wall from the alien scanner, an almost mirror image of his own from a month ago.

'Oh no,' he muttered, catching Gwen's shocked look. Was it contagious? Had he condemned Gwen to the same fate? It almost didn't bear thinking about. He'd never forgive himself.

'No, that can't be right,' Owen said, running the scan again.

'Please, God, tell me this isn't happening,' Gwen said, on the verge of tears. Ianto didn't know what to do to try and console her.

Owen looked perplexed and a little bit angry. He pulled Gwen's hand off the scanner and slapped his own down. It bleeped again and showed his brain with the same growth nesting in his brain. Oh God, did they all have it now?

He ran down the stairs as tears were beginning to fall down Gwen's face, and seeing the look of horror on Owen's, but failing to see the cable that connected the scanner to the power socket, tripping over it and kicking it out from the wall. The image disappeared off the wall and Owen looked up.

'Sorry,' Ianto apologised, bending down to plug it back in.

'I, uh, better go get Jack and Tosh,' Owen mumbled, staggering past him, still in shock himself. Gwen was crying silently. Ianto went over and hugged her, not knowing what else to do.

Jack and Tosh both joined them downstairs, prepared for the worst as Owen made them place their hand on the scanner in turn. Tosh's scan came back clean, and both she and Gwen hiccupped in relief, through Gwen's eyes were still full of tears. Jack's scan also came back clear; not a single trace of anything.

Confused, Owen ran Gwen's scan again, and this time it came too came back clear. There were even more tears, though this time they were happy ones. He scanned himself again and also got the all clear. It was thoroughly perplexing.

'Looks like I'm the only one dying around here,' Ianto said, trying to keep things upbeat, glad that the others were okay.

'Hang on a sec,' Owen said. 'I want to check you over as well.'

'I really don't think there's any point, do you?'

'Just humour me.'

Ianto sat down and rolled up his sleeve, placing his hand on the scanner, expecting the alarms to start going off any minute. Instead the scanner gave him a green light. He was in perfect health, his scans bereft of any sort of giant stringy sponge invading his head.

'I don't understand it. How can it be gone?' Owen said, as if expecting one of the others to have the answer.

'It's really gone?' Jack asked, scared to be too hopeful, too soon.

'Maybe the machine is broken,' Tosh suggested, praying she was wrong.

'I accidentally knocked out the power cord before,' Ianto confessed. 'Are you sure it was properly configured afterwards?'

'Yes, yes, everything was fine, I-, ' he stopped mid sentence.

'What is it?' Jack asked.

Owen paused for a moment, as if considering how to phrase his next sentence, looking pale.

'What?' Jack demanded.

'Do you remember those power surges we kept having a few weeks ago?'

'We fixed them, didn't we?'

'Yep,' Tosh confirmed. 'I remember because it was the same day we found out that Ianto was-,' she also stopped mid sentence. 'You remembered to reconfigure the scanner after the surge, didn't you, Owen?'

'Um, I might have forgotten?' he said, inflection rising.

'Hang on,' Jack said, trying to follow all the half sentences. 'Are we saying that the device was screwy, and that there was never anything wrong with anyone, this whole time?'

'Maybe?' Owen cringed, waiting for the hammer to fall.

'Maybe?' Jack repeated, suddenly fuming at all the anguish and heartache that everyone had been through the past few weeks.

'Jack,' Ianto interceded, putting a hand on his arm.

'Maybe???' Jack yelled again.

'Sorry! Don't look at me like that! It was an honest mistake! How was I to know the thing was that temperamental?'

'Sorry?' Jack raged, feeling a need to repeat everything Owen said.

'Jack!' Ianto yelled. 'Can we all just be happy that no one is dying?'

Jack seemed to snap out of whatever rage fuelled trance he was in, and roughly grabbed Ianto's face, kissing him hard, ignoring everyone else. The kiss was intense but short-lived as he pulled back away, turning his attention once again to Owen.

'Don't think this changes anything,' he warned, pointing a threatening finger in Owen's direction. 'You're going to be making it up to everyone for a very long time, especially Ianto. Lord knows he's been through hell thanks to your idiocy.'

'Jack, that's really not necess-' Ianto started, before Jack cut him off.

'If you think Ianto's punishments are bad, they're nothing compared to the things I'm going to come up with. Mucking out the weevil cells will be the most enjoyable part of your day!'

He grabbed Ianto's hand and roughly dragged him back up the stairs, determined to make up for lost time in shagging the living daylights out of him, for once not worried that he might not make it to the happy ending, and that this time around there were going to be at least two very, very happy endings.

It was true that Jack was both creative, vindictive, and just a little bit evil in devising a long list of highly unpleasant duties for Owen around the hub for the next several weeks. To Owen's credit though, he took it all in his stride, knowing full well that even though it had been a simple little thing, that he'd cocked things up, but glad that they'd worked out in the end, and that no one had gotten hurt as a result. Ianto even helped him with a few of the less pleasant tasks, taking pity on him. They were only human after all, and what Jack didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Comments

[bk_forever]

Poor Ianto! (And Jack). So glad it turned out to be just a mistake with the scanner and that Ianto is fine!

[m-findlow.livejournal.com]

*pets Ianto and looks guiltily at Jack*
I do put poor Ianto through the wringer. Jack will come and hunt me down one day to put an end to all the torture.... *shudders*

[bk_forever]

As long as you keep giving him Ianto back in one piece I think he'll forgive you. Especially if you occasionally throw in some immortal Ianto to sweeten the deal ;)