Anythingdrabble Challenge 22 - In bloom

[m_findlow]

Title: In bloom
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack, Ianto, Owen
Word Count: 500 words
Rating: PG
Notes: Written for Challenge 22 - Blossom at anythingdrabble
Summary: A new plant at the hub is posing a problem.

'What is that?' Ianto asked, looking over Owen's shoulder as he sprayed the plant with water, seeing the bulbous growth from its top.

'No idea,' Owen replied. 'Wasn't there yesterday.'

'Hey, Owen,' Jack said, poking his head in the door, 'have you seen? Ah, there you are.'

'Here I am,' Ianto replied. 'We're just admiring the bizarre uniqueness of the universe.'

Jack frowned when he saw what they were looking at. 'Oh, no.'

'Oh, no, what?'

'The last time I saw a plant do something like that it went crazy and spawned everywhere. The things grew like wildfire. It took weeks to uproot them from every last nook and cranny. It was a wonder anyone could find the hub for all the greenery, and half the team were allergic to the damn things.'

'It's a seed pod?' Owen asked. 'Might be a flower.'

'These things don't flower, that much I know.'

'So, what do we do?'

'Keep it locked up in here until it goes off.'

'We couldn't just seal it up in some kind of containment unit?' Ianto asked.

'It could go off at any moment. Any disturbance might also trigger it to spawn. We could be mistaken for a gust of wind, just waiting for it to set its seed adrift on. Plants are funny like that.'

'Because they don't need much of an excuse to get off?' Owen quipped. 'Thought you'd understand that perfectly.'

'But, doesn't that mean that the hothouse will be overrun with mini plants when this thing spawns?' Ianto asked.

'Yep, but the best we can do is damage limitation. It's a reasonably confined space. We shut off the ventilation in and out of here and wait for the whole thing to blow over, so to speak.'

They each carefully stepped away from the plant, gently closing the door behind them and sealing off the ventilation.

'How long?' Ianto asked.

'No idea.'

The hothouse was off limits indefinitely, though every morning Jack woke and expected to see it overrun with greenery, pressed up against the windows, trying to force its way out. Owen merely complained that half the other plants in there would die if they didn't get watered soon, and why hadn't Jack warned him earlier that this particular plant was a problem.

After several days, and still no explosion, Owen was slouched at his desk feeling grumpy that all his hard work was going to waste. When he saw Ianto quietly ascending the stairs towards the hothouse, he got up and followed him.

'Thought the boss said we couldn't go in there?' he said, just as Ianto had his hand on the doorknob.

'I want to check something,' he replied, entering with Owen hot on his heels.

The huge pod on the plant was gone, replaced by a flushing orange blossom and a heady, sweet perfume.

'I did a bit more research on these things. Turns out they do flower, it's just super rare. Guess you're a better gardener than you thought.'