Fffc March Special Bingo - Under the weather

[m_findlow]

Title: Under the weather
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Gwen, Jack, Rhys
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 2,728 words
Content notes: Post Miracle Day
Author notes: Written for fffc March Special Bingo Card - Prompt 1 - Yellow
Summary: Jack has brought more than just himself for a visit.

It was a slightly irate Gwen that answered the door. 'Oh, decided you'd turn up, after all?' she quipped.

'I promised, didn't I?' Jack said, trying to give her one of his winning smiles.

Instead she narrowed her eyes at him, before breaking into a smile of her own. 'Oh, come here you and give us a cwtch,' she said, wrapping her arms tight around him. 'Better late than never, I suppose.' She pulled away slightly and turned her head. 'Rhys! Jack's here.'

'Oh, aye,' came the voice from down the hall, appearing with Anwen is his arms. 'Call yourself a flipping Time Agent. Only two days late. Better things to do than see your old friends, is it?'

Jack smiled and reached out for Anwen, Rhys letting her go into his arms. 'Hey princess,' Jack cooed. 'Look how big you are!'

'Nearly twenty months now,' Rhys said, beaming like the proud father he was.

'We start training them for Torchwood as soon as they hit two,' Jack replied.

Rhys frowned at him. 'That's not even funny, Jack. Bad enough Gwen still tinkers around the edges. You're not having Anwen as well.'

'What's Daddy on about, hey?' Jack teased, rubbing noses with her.

'Come on, I'll put on some tea,' Gwen said, ushering the pair of them into the living room.

 

Rhys was prattling on about the various problems of the latest attempts to fix the Newport bypass when Gwen came in with tea and biscuits.

'Did you just get back, Jack?' she asked, handing out  the mugs, and taking Anwen from Jack's lap so he could clutch his own, helping himself to two biscuits as well.

'To Cardiff? Yeah. Been back on Earth a few week, though.'

'Oh. And what have you been doing?' She was curious what could be more important than coming to visit them first. Perhaps some new Torchwood case she could help with.

'I was in Paraguay.'

'Why?'

'They've got some real interesting aliens living down those parts.'

She gave him a questioning glance. 'And by interesting you mean?'

Jack grinned. 'So many appendages.'

'Bloody hell, Jack.' Did all his travels have to revolve around his sexual escapades?

'Language, Gwen,' Rhys said, knowing Anwen had reached an age where she absorbed absolutely everything and took delight in repeating words she'd heard.

'Sorry,' Gwen apologised. 'Anyway, spare room is made up. You're welcome to stay as long as you want.'

'Just don't think we're doing your laundry,' Rhys warned.

Jack grinned. 'Wouldn't dream of it.'

Gwen giggled, trying to imagine Rhys siting on their sofa sorting out his underwear from Jack's, before casting a look back at him. 'You've hardly touched your tea,' she observed. They never served coffee with Jack in the house. It was a bad joke that Gwen could make coffee anyway. It was just something that belonged in a past life, and that was where they intended on keeping it.

'Just a little jetlagged, I think,' Jack replied. 'Been a while since I had to take traditional air travel. Forgot how slow it is.'

'You do look a little tired.' She frowned. Since when did Jack get jetlag? 'You can have a kip if you like. Tea's not for ages.'

'I came to see Anwen,' Jack replied.

'Oh, and what are the rest of us, hmm?' She cocked her head at him, giving him one of those motherly annoyed looks.

'You know what I mean.'

'Well, she'll still be here, unless you plan on skipping out on us tonight.' The questioning look told him all he needed to know about just how long he was expected to stay. 'After you've had a bit of rest, you can help give her a bath and put her to bed if you like.'

He smiled. 'Sounds like a plan.'

 

Jack hadn't realised just how tired he felt until he shucked off his coat and settled himself on the bed. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it tight over him, cold despite the warmth of the room, before toeing off his boots simultaneously as he lay there, hearing them drop to the floor. He sank his head into the pillow and promptly fell asleep.

 

'Jack?' The voice sounded muffled as it called out. 'Jack?' Gwen leant over him and shook his shoulder. She could tell almost straight away that something was wrong, feeling the heat radiating off him. He'd been asleep for hours. Tea was practically on the table and still he hadn't woken to all of the banging and crashing around the kitchen.

'Jack?'

Slowly he opened his eyes, feeling his head spin as he tried to focus on the face above him.

'Think I'm going to be sick,' he muttered, just about falling out of the bed and stumbling towards what he thought he remembered was the bathroom. He knocked into something on the way but kept going, hearing nothing more than an 'Oi!' from Rhys, whom he'd bungled into. Before he could consider it, his stomach emptied into the toilet bowl.

'Jack? What the hell?' he heard Gwen call out as he slumped over on the cold tiles. 'Jack?'

'Don't feel so good,' he said, clutching to the edge of the bowl in case he needed it again.

'You don't look it, either,' she said, managing to brush aside the hair that had fallen across his face, revealing the waxen complexion.

'Oi, what's going on?' Rhys asked, hovering in the doorway.

'Jack? Are you going to be sick again?' Gwen asked, not wanting to move him unless she was sure.

'Think it's passed,' he replied, feeling better for having thrown up.

'Okay, help me get him up, Rhys,' Gwen said, tucking an arm under him.

 

They managed to stagger back to the bedroom and Jack flopped back on the bed, aches and pains running through his body, along with waves of chills.

'Here,' Rhys said, setting a bucket down beside the bed. 'Just in case. Save you a trip.'

'D'you know what this is, Jack?' Gwen said, keeping a calm head, having rarely seen him get more than a basic cough and cold.

'No idea,' he panted, letting her rearrange the blankets around him.

'Probably just some twenty-four hour bug or something he got on the plane,' Rhys said. 'Or food poisoning. You know what they're like on those cheap flights to Cardiff.'

'Well, we'll know in a few minutes,' Gwen said, pulling out a case from the wardrobe and snapping open the locks on it.

'You're keeping Torchwood kit in the house now?' Rhys exclaimed.

'It's just a medical kit, Rhys, stop complaining. All I need as a little pinprick of Jack's blood and it'll analyse it against every known disease, alien or otherwise.'

'We can't just take him to a local GP, Gwennie?'

'This is faster.'

'So, he could have some alien swine flu?'

Gwen knelt beside the bed and grabbed Jack's hand, letting the small spring loaded device jab his finger.

'Ow,' Jack moaned. 'Hate needles.'

'Sorry,' Gwen said, watching as the red dot pooled on its top, before absorbing it onto the slide. She slipped it into the side of the device and pressed a button. It didn't take long at all before it beeped out a result.

'What is it?' Rhys said, sounding anxious.

'It says yellow fever,' Gwen answered.

'Yellow fever? Isn't that some third world disease?'

Paraguay, she thought with no small amount of annoyance. She already had it keyed into her phone, reading the information.

'Is it contagious?' Rhys asked. 'What about Anwen?'

'Relax, Rhys. It's not contagious.'

'Only if I turn into a mosquito and start sucking on your blood,' Jack replied weakly.

'Not funny, Jack.'

He coughed, pulling the blanket tight. 'You asked.'

'So, what do we do?' Rhys asked, looking across at his wife. 'Is there antibiotics or something he can take?'

'Nothing. It says all we can do is wait out the fever and hope it clears. Three days, hopefully.'

'Hang on,' Rhys said. 'This is Jack were talking about. As in, you can't die,' he said, directing his comments at the other man.

'He gets sick just like the rest of us,' Gwen replied. 'He just pretends he's invincible. Probably caught it on his little side trip to Paraguay, didn't you Jack?'

'Maybe?' How was it he always managed to sound so innocent despite being guilty as hell?

She set her hands on her hips. 'And you didn't think to get vaccinated or anything before you went there?'

'Can't die. Not high on my list of priorities.'

Gwen groaned. 'Only you, Jack Harkness. Finally convince you to come visit and here I am playing nurse.'

'Sexy nurse,' Jack replied.

'And now the delusions have started.' She stood up, feeling her knee click. 'Alright, well there's not much we can do but let you rest for the moment. At least you'll be staying for a few days, now.'

'Keep up that positive thinking,' he replied, sinking exhausted back into the pillow.

 

Gwen kept a close eye on Jack as he suffered, for the most part silently. It looked every bit like a bad case of the flu, complete with headaches, chills, fatigue, muscle pain, and nausea. She'd hoped that he'd improve, and he had for a little while, but then the nausea and vomiting had come back, and it was all the wrong colour, brown and bloodied.

'Flipping heck, Gwen. I know it's called yellow fever but I didn't actually think he'd turn yellow,' Rhys said, watching from a distance.

'It's jaundice, Rhys,' she replied, squeezing out a wet flannel and setting it back on his forehead. 'His kidneys are failing.' She'd been reading up on the disease. It would either clear up in three days or get worse. Naturally in Jack's case, it had chosen to get worse. She'd hoped he'd been getting better. After that third day he'd actually been sitting up in bed and even eating a bit of porridge she'd made him, but a few hours later, he was feverish again, descending into the second, and much worse stage of the illness.

'Shouldn't he be in a hospital, then?' Rhys asked.

'There's nothing they can do,' she replied. 'Make him comfortable is all.'

She brushed a hand through his hair, sweeping it back from his forehead. She didn't like to say it, but she didn't think they'd manage even that much. At least here he was going to get the best care possible, even if there was little they could do.

'He looks bloody awful.'

He did. He really did, she thought. Ianto would have been beside himself if he'd been here now, fussing over him like a mother hen. Wasn't that what she was doing? It was just them now. Jack didn't have anyone else. Not that she knew of, anyway. Not here on Earth at least. Just her, and Rhys and Anwen. Andy as well, she supposed. And her Mam, God help them.

'Come on, Jack,' she whispered, though she wasn't sure he could hear her. 'You can pull through this.'

Just when Gwen was sure that Jack wasn't going to pull through it, he slowly started getting better. It was such a relief. She'd hated thinking that he would have been better off if she'd just given him something days ago that would kill him instantly. What did it say about either of them that they thought death was the easiest solution to their problems? It was the watching him suffer when she knew there was an alternative, that killed her the most. The more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that she'd couldn't have done it, not even to ease his pain. It was one thing to let him sacrifice himself for the greater good of the planet, but when there was nothing else at stake, living was more important. Hadn't that been what Jack had said to her all that time ago? Now that he knew what it was to live, he was going to fight like he'll to keep on living.

'Just you keep fighting, Jack,' she whispered, tucking him in.

 

When Gwen crawled out of bed the next morning, wrapping the thick terry robe around her and checking on Anwen, she moved down the hall to check on Jack. Surprisingly he was awake.

'Hey, you. A bit of colour back in your cheeks,' she said, settling on the edge of the bed.

'I don't feel like puking my guts out if that's what you mean,' he replied.

'Rhys will be thrilled,' she replied, having lost count of how many times Jack had been doubled over in agony, vomiting up bloodstained fluids into the bucket. The least Rhys could do was empty it and wash it out for the next time which probably wouldn't be too far away.

'Is it breakfast time?' Jack asked, trying to sit up in the bed. 'I don't even remember what day it is, but it must be a few since I last had breakfast.'

'Now I know you're feeling better,' Gwen joked. 'Your stomach is doing all the thinking.'

'Some of my best,' he replied.

'Good. Well, we'll start you on some plain toast and see how you go. If you keep that down you can have a bath.'

'A bath?'

'Yes, Jack, a bath. You've been in that bed for six days and I'm not kidding when I say you stink.'

 

Gwen let Rhys help Jack with getting in and out of the bath. Whilst he didn't love it, it wasn't the first time Rhys had been forced to deal with Jack completely naked, nor did he think it would be the last time.

'You put bubbles in it,' Jack beamed, seeing the layer of fluffy white on top.

'Aye, just in case Anwen decides she wants to pay her Uncle Jack a visit. Don't want your crown jewels on display for everyone to see.'

'You're all heart, Rhys Williams,' Jack said. 'I thought you just wanted to pamper me, but you're concerned for my modesty as well.'

'Assuming you had any,' he replied.

 

By the time Gwen had finished fussing over him, feeding him, making sure he had a blanket if it was still too cold, and insisting on extra socks, borrowed from Rhys, he was almost glad to leave.

'Here's your clothes,' Gwen said, handing them over. 'Freshly washed and ironed.'

'Thank the gods,' Jack said. 'You know how much I love the track pants and t-shirt look,' he said, gratefully accepting his faithful attire.

'You're sure you don't want to stay a while longer? We don't mind. Stay as long as you like.' Truth be told, she'd gotten used to having Jack around. He really was like family.

'I think I've taken enough of your time, but thanks for the offer. Thought you'd be itching to get rid of me.'

'That's the truth,' Rhys said jokingly, though still earning an elbow in the side from Gwen for his troubles.

'I'll be back soon enough,' he promised. 'I've got this little one to watch grow up,' he said, giving Anwen the biggest cuddle he could muster. It had been nice being somewhere he felt wanted, but there was also so much more he wanted to see. It was just good to know that for now he had somewhere he could come home to when he got tired of feeling lonely.

'Where will you go?' Gwen asked.

'Who knows,' he replied honestly. 'So much universe out there to see.'

Gwen wrapped him in a tight hug. 'Just promise us you'll be careful, yeah? We can't always be there to look after you.'

'I will be. Can't die, remember. And, on the plus side, once you've had yellow fever, apparently that makes you immune for life. Might be I'll stop by Paraguay on my way again next time now that I can't get it again.'

'Oh, yeah,' Rhys muttered. 'Just get something else instead. Dengue fever, malaria, cholera, ebola. Brilliant.'

'I've had cholera. Back in London in 1854. It ain't pretty. Knew I shouldn't have drunk the local water.'

'Maybe next time you'll think about these sorts of things before you go off galavanting around in the jungle?' Gwen said, straightening the collar on his coat.

'Yes, Mum.'

She pecked him on the cheek. 'Immortal, Jack, not invincible,' she reminded him.

Comments

[bk_forever]

Poor Jack, maybe he should get vaccinated next time, but would vaccinations work on him?