Torchwood: FanFic - Finding home

[m_findlow]

Title: Finding home
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Torchwood team
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,325 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for oneill's prompt "any, any, I wanna see your face and know I made it home" at fic_promptly

Jack stood there overlooking the plass with the Doctor and Martha. He didn't think he'd ever be so happy to see this place again, with all its everyday goings on.

The water tower stood tall and proudly shining, like a beacon signalling for home.

He was suddenly itching to say his goodbyes to the Doctor, and get back to the hub and his team.

As the Tardis left in a gust of wind, Jack's stomach growled loudly. When had he last eaten? A whole year of gruel and mash was not considered food, and right now a steak and a plate piled high with every kind of vegetable imaginable would have been good. Anxious to get back though, he settled for a bacon roll from a nearby kiosk. It tasted like the best thing he'd ever eaten in his life, and he even stopped for a few minutes just to savour the taste of real food.

As he let the cogwheel door unfold in front of him, ready for his grand entrance, he was disappointed to find no one there. The only evidence that they'd been there were a handful of unwashed mugs. As soon as he saw them he knew that he desperately wanted coffee. Owen's mug still lay half full and Jack lowered himself to sipping at the cold remnants. Dear Gods, how he'd missed Ianto's coffee. How had he gone a whole year without it?

He ambled back into his office with the remains of Owen's coffee, now reheated in the microwave and began investigating where his team had gotten to. Luckily, his passwords still worked. Tosh hadn't locked him out of their systems yet, though he was annoyed to discover he'd been gone four months in this timeline. Oops, that was going to require some explaining.

He eventually tracked them down to a blowfish sighting who was causing mayhem in the city centre.

Excellent, he hadn't encountered a blowfish for years, but they could be particularly nasty. He decided it was best to go after his team rather than wait for them to return. If things got hairy, they might need backup. Plus, he might still manage his grand entrance.

He was quietly proud watching his team from the shadows as they confronted the blowfish.

Despite its goading, Jack tried to project his thoughts to Ianto, who was locked in a moment of indecisiveness.

Take the shot.

He had no doubts that Ianto could pull it off. He'd been trained by the best, him. His only downfall was that he'd suddenly been put in the shoes of their leader, forced to make the hard decision whilst the rest of the team attended to other tasks. It was the one aspect of Jack's job that he hadn't mastered. Paperwork, public relations, empathy, knowledge, organisation, combat skills, he had all those in spades. He could easily have taken over as leader of Torchwood in a heartbeat, Jack knew. But this was the one test he'd yet to pass. Jack wanted so much to let him have this chance, but time was of the essence and this blowfish was volatile to say the least.

In the end, he took the decision out of Ianto's hands and fired his gun.

The look of momentary confusion was priceless as he watched Ianto examine his gun, trying to figure out how it had gone off. Then the four faces had spun around and see him standing there. He was back.

He should have known it was too good to be true that he might receive a warm welcome, and coupled with the return of John Hart it made for a rocky foundation. Still, John was gone now, including the chaos he'd created. The only problem now was the time loop.

'Now we have to avoid ourselves, great,' he muttered.

That meant holing up for the night where they wouldn't have a run in with their past selves. And the best place for that was at home, the one place they knew they wouldn't be.

Owen offered to take Tosh home on his way, and Jack drove home Gwen and Ianto.

When he pulled up outside Ianto's apartment block, the obvious dawned on him. He turned in his seat to face Ianto, hands still gripping the steering wheel.

'Uh, I can't go back to the hub.'

'Of course not,' Ianto replied rolling his eyes, 'that's why you're staying the night with me.'

'Right,' Jack said a little uncertain. He'd spent the odd night there before, but really, they spent most of their time together at the hub, and Jack wasn't quite sure where they stood. Just before he'd left, his relationship, for want of a better word, had only just been exposed to the rest of the team. And it had been four months since. Much could have changed. Then again, Ianto had already agreed to go on a proper date with him so maybe things had not changed too much.

Jack looked around at the flat as Ianto lead him inside.

'Looks just the same,' Jack commented.

'Should do,' Ianto replied. 'Not as if we've really had time to spend at home since you le-, since you've been gone,' Ianto corrected himself.

I deserved that, Jack thought.

'Did I mention I'm sorry?' Jack replied sheepishly.

'Once or twice,' Ianto quipped.

'I really am.' Gods he'd missed Ianto.

'What happened to you while you were gone?' Ianto asked, not really expecting Jack to give him an answer.

'So much, Ianto, so much.'

Jack grabbed his face in both hands and kissed him hard on the mouth. Ianto responded instinctually, as if no time at all had passed. When Jack pulled back he kept his hands cupped around Ianto's cheeks and stared hard at him

'What's wrong?' Ianto asked, a look of worry passing over his face. Was Jack going to leave them again?

'Nothing,' Jack replied, 'just give me a minute. I wanna see your face and know I made it home.'

Ianto looked back at him earnestly. Whatever had happened to Jack while he was gone, he wasn't ready to share yet, but Ianto had a feeling that it hadn't been all good. He didn't have a chance to ponder it further before Jack kissed him hard again. It was a few moments before Ianto managed to break off the kiss.

'You're home, Jack. Just don't think this gets you off the hook. '

Jack pulled back suddenly, his face clouding with uncertainty. What did Ianto mean? Was he really home, or was this some alternate version of Ianto Jones? Had the Doctor got it wrong again? His timing was always off, which was ironic, given he was a time Lord.

Ianto sensed his confusion and the slight panic in his eyes.

'What I mean,' he clarified, 'is that don't think a few kisses gets you out of taking me on that date.'

Jack chuckled with relief and kissed him yet again.

'Oh, Ianto Jones, you can have a hundred dates. A thousand. I'm just so glad to be back home!'

Home. Jack paused for a moment.

He'd been born in the 51st century, thousands of light years from Earth, travelled through all of time and space, and had been exiled here for over a hundred years. It had felt like a prison sentence waiting for the Doctor, but something had changed in these last few years. He'd been left in charge of Torchwood, finally able to mould it into something good. He'd built an incredible team of people who were loyal and hardworking, and he'd even come to consider them friends. And he'd met Ianto Jones, and fallen hard for him in a most unexpected way.

The Doctor had offered for him to join him, and once again travel the length and breadth of the universe, and he'd turned it down.

Yes, this once might have been purgatory, but now it was most definitely home.

Comments

[bk_forever]

Lovely look at Jack's return and all his hopes and fears. After being adrift for so long, he's finally found a place that feels like home.