Torchwood: Fanfic: Food on the go

[m_findlow]

Title: Food on the go
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen, Gwen
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,457 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for m_findlow's prompt "Any, any, hunger pains" at fic_promptly
Summary: When you're starving, you'll eat anything

'Hurry up, would you!' Jack yelled, writhing around in the cell in obvious agony.

'I'm moving as quick as I can,' Owen retorted.

'It's not quick enough!'

Owen growled. 'There's a whole freaking database full of alien creatures and you expect me to just be able to find it straight away?'

The scene would have been comical but for the fact that Jack's leg was currently being mauled, with Ianto hanging onto the creature, trying to pull it away as much as he could. It was bigger than an alsation and about three times as broad, heavy set and covered in a bristly light brown fur. Plus a mouth full of very sharp teeth. It was proving a lot stronger than either of them had anticipated however, and it was all he could do from stopping it tearing Jack's leg off altogether, before working its way further up. He might heal quicker that the average human, but they both held a very firm opinion that there were certain parts of Jack's anatomy that would be better left in pristine condition, regardless of his healing abilities.

Ianto heaved harder, one hand wrapped around its bushy tail and the other around its torso. 'I've heard about having hunger pains, but this is ridiculous. If I'd know I would have come armed with a steak; rare.'

Jack was doing his utmost not to scream out in pain. The creature had its fangs well and truly embedded in his calf, the rest of his foot already having disappeared down its gullet. In hindsight maybe he should have been more careful. No one knew what it was, only that it had been unconscious when they'd found it, taking it back to the hub and putting it in the cell until they could call in Owen to check it over and make sure it was okay. Feeling sorry for its predicament had fallen right to the bottom of the list of priorities as they'd headed in to carry it out for Owen to get a better look. No sooner had it regained consciousness then it was straight onto its next meal: Jack.

'How do you amend these stupid search parameters?' Owen complained. 'I can't find anything in this system!'

'I'm going to be half digested by the time you find anything!'

Ianto growled. 'Give it to me!'

'Ianto, no,' Jack insisted. Ianto was the only thing stopping him from being ground beef right now.

'I'll be able to find it quicker than Owen. Believe me, no one wants you in one piece more than me.'

Jack wailed as the teeth jolted sideways, tearing another chunk out of his leg. 'Do, it!'

Ianto quickly let go as Owen simultaneously lunged forward, thrusting him the device in his hand and hugging the torso of the creature.

'Ianto!' he heard Gwen chirp in his ear, 'I'm on my way,' she said, sounding out of breath. She'd been heading back out when it all kicked off. He heard her come crashing through the door at the other end of the cells, gun raised.

'Don't shoot!' Jack yelled.

'Oh, now you're an animal rights activist?' Owen griped, having trouble getting any sort of leverage as the thing growled and bucked beneath him.

'Here, I've got it!' Ianto cried, finding an entry in their voluminous database. 'A standard sleeping gas ought to knock it out without harming it.' He dropped the PDA and went to help Owen hold the creature back, seeing Owen losing his grip on it, Jack's knee now out of sight and in its ferocious maw. Despite the pain, Jack was beginning to look very pale from the blood loss.

'Gwen! Lock us down and release the agent,' Ianto instructed.

'But what about you three?'

'Asleep is better than dead. Just get Jack out as soon as you can and stop the bleeding. Tie his leg off if you have to.'

Gwen hit the button on the side panel, sealing them in, before running to the end of the cells and up the stairs to the small control office. She deftly typed in her credentials, activating the release of the chemical agent and watching the screen with the interior security camera feed. The agent worked quickly, slowing them down before the two men griped around the huge hairy beast sagged over the top of it, and the creature itself slumped, its jaw loosening its grip on Jack, whose eyes were already shut, lying prone on the floor.

Gwen flicked another control, sucking the remaining gas back out of the cell before running back to unlock it. Dragging Jack out was the only way to reclaim his leg from inside its mouth, and though he was like a lead weight, she somehow managed it. She quickly pulled off the belt around her waist and cinched it tight around his thigh, the rest of his leg a mangled and bloody mess.

Assured that her makeshift tourniquet would hold for the moment, she worked on getting the other two out of the cell, before locking it tight, leaving their newest addition to sleep off the drugs on its own.

Whilst she waited for the others to come around, she dashed back upstairs and grabbed one of their emergency medical kits, cutting Jack's pants leg along the seam and pulling it away so that she could irrigate the wounds. For anyone else, stitches would have been essential, but Jack's unique abilities had it already slowly beginning to heal itself of the horrendous damage. It was probably a good thing he was asleep, she thought, knowing that the rinsing would sting like crazy. It probably wasn't strictly necessary, but she'd become paranoid ever since that day he'd been too close to an exploding gas pipe, and his stomach had healed over, trapping several nails and bits of debris inside him. And who knew what kind of diseases that thing's saliva could be harboring.

Ianto was confused when he came to. He rolled over on his side and his face was almost pressed up against the side of the transparent cell door. He jolted back, seeing the bloodied mouth of the snoozing beast just inches from his own, all his memories coming back quickly. He sat up and saw Gwen tending Jack's injuries.

'Thank you,' he said, knowing it was inadequate. Any and all attempts to spare Jack from another death and another horrific resurrection were appreciated beyond measure.

He crawled over and shook Owen's shoulder, trying to rouse him. 'Owen,'

'Wha?' came the muffled groan.

'Your patient needs you.'

Owen grumbled a bit more, but then got to work, checking over what Gwen had done and giving his tick of approval, undoing the belt and checking the flow of blood back into the limb.

'Wakey, wakey, Jack,' Owen said. If the rest of them were awake now, Jack shouldn't be too far behind.

'Don't wanna.'

'There's a coffee in it for you.'

Jack's eyes flashed open and he bolted upright, wincing at the pain in his still healing leg. 'Is it dead?' he asked.

'Nope, just out for the count,' Ianto replied, helping ease him back down. 'But probably not for much longer I'm guessing.'

'We know what it is now?'

Ianto looked around for the PDA, before spotting it: in the cell with the thing he'd identified as a Zargog.

'That's my PDA,' Owen complained. 'I can't believe you left it in there.'

'I was busy trying to help you save Jack from becoming dog food. If you want to go in there and get it back, be my guest.'

Owen stared at it, just lying there, two feet away. 'Expensive chew toy, now. You can buy me a new one.'

'We should probably feed that thing,' Gwen said, before it tries to take a chunk out of anyone else.'

'What does it eat?' Owen asked.

'I didn't get that far,' Ianto replied, having been slightly more preoccupied with how to curtail its feeding frenzy. 'Immortal Time Agents are probably hard to come by - somewhat of a delicacy - but I'd hazard a guess that red meat is a safe bet.'

'A trip to Tescos then!' Jack announced. 'Can we get some of that chocolate chip ice-cream while we're there? I'm starving.'

'How can you think about food at a time like this?' Gwen said. Just the sight of all that blood put her right off food.

'Being me is hard work. I need to keep up my strength.'

'You're not going anywhere, Mister,' Ianto said, cringing at the painful looking injury still trying hard to heal itself, agreeing with Gwen wholeheartedly. 'But, if you're lucky, I might be convinced to bring you back a treat to make up for it.'