Someone to Watch Over Me - Chapter 7

[madbottoms]

Title: Someone to Watch Over Me (7/?)

Pairing(s)/Characters: Jack/Ianto, Tosh/Owen and OCs.

Rating: NC17 (overall)

Warnings: smarm, sap and crack – of the mills & boon type (seriously), m/m pairing

Disclaimer: Torchwood and its associated characters, and events are property of the BBC and Russell T. Davies but shamelessly borrowed for some fun.

A/N 1: I decided to go all Mills & Boon on you. But no swooning allowed.   Ianto and Jack talk over dinner and we learn a little more about Jack. Hope everyone had a good Christmas.

Summary: Jack Harkness, a close family, and owner of a prestigious security firm is asked to take on the task of protecting Ianto Jones when he starts receiving death threats.

 

SEVEN

 

Ianto didn’t know why he’d let Jack talk him into spending the weekend at his getaway cottage in Snowdonia. Somehow, he’d let Jack convince him that he needed the change of scene. Whatever the reason, it was nice to be back in Wales again. Ianto missed it, having spent most of his childhood and teenage years there.

 

He sat in the living room, his files around him, having spent the afternoon working on his brief in response to Manger’s upcoming pre-trial.

 

He could hear Jack moving around in the kitchen. After they’d gone into town for groceries, he’d gone to work on his computer. There were four of them in the study, he had discovered, plus some hi-tech computer accessories.

 

Ianto was thankful that the past week had been less eventful after they’d discovered the anonymous note in the mailbox, the rest of the day had been spent talking to the police that Jack had summoned to the house. Ianto had spent more than an hour being grilled, the dull throbbing at his temples a testimony the thoroughness of their questioning.

 

The police had since informed them that the photographs and note hadn’t turned up any fingerprints other than Jack’s, though the envelope that they’d come in had come up with many different prints, including probably that of the mailman. None of the shop owners or anyone else near the locations of the photos had been taken had remembered anything suspicious.

 

Yet, despite the uneventfulness of the week, Ianto hadn’t felt relaxed. Whereas before he’d only thought that someone might be watching him, the photos confirmed that to be the case.

 

It was unsettling to realise that someone was watching him and invading his privacy like that. And the threats were scary. He now found himself turning around at odd moments, expecting to catch someone watching him.

 

So, at the end of the week, when Jack had argued he could work just as well at his cottage as he could at the house, Ianto hadn’t disagreed too persistently. In fact, he admitted to himself, having Jack around made him feel safe. Maybe it was the photos and note that had done it, but he no longer had the same desire to get rid of him.

 

And going to Jack’s place was a distraction. When they’d arrived that morning, he’d discovered that Jack’s ‘getaway’ cottage was a two-story, wood-framed structure, nestled in the mountains, up a long private road. It had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, living room, study, deck and, for good measure, an outdoor spa.

 

Ianto tried not to think about the spa.

 

He looked through the sliding doors leading out to the large wooden deck and watched Jack light up the barbeque grill. Beside him, plates held some steaks and potatoes ready for grilling.

 

Deciding it was time to put away his files for the evening, he rose and put the files into a folder on the table.

 

When he got outside, Jack stood against the railing sipping a beer and watching the sun dip between the peaks of two mountains in the distance.

 

He opened another beer and handed it to Ianto.

 

‘Thanks,’ he said, watching him return his attention to the food. ‘You know, Harkness, I could get used to you cooking for me.’

 

At Jack’s astonished look, he laughed.

 

Despite himself, Jack laughed too. Closing the barbeque, he said, ‘Alright, then, so for the rest of the evening, remember that I’m the one in charge and you are my second.’

 

Ianto rolled his eyes. ‘What do you mean for the rest of the evening? Haven’t you been trying to convince me of that every day?’

 

‘Right, but with little success.’ He motioned to the glass doors into the kitchen. ‘The rest of the stuff for dinner is in there.’

 

Throwing him a look, Ianto nevertheless took the hint and went into the kitchen, returning with the items and placed them on the table. As he set the table, he cast Jack a furtive look.

 

His faded jeans hugged his tight arse and he wore his button down shirt open at the collar, revealing a white undershirt he wore beneath. Overall, the effect was casual but sexy.

 

Until they’d actually sat down to eat, Ianto didn’t realise how intimate it was to be having dinner with Jack, surrounded by mountains, eating food that he’d prepared. Despite that—or maybe as a distraction from it—the conversation flowed easily between them. They talked about the latest news, music and Rugby scores.

 

By the time they were done eating, Ianto was feeling pleasantly relaxed. So much so that he was able to say casually, ‘There’s just one thing I never understood about you, Harkness.’

 

‘Only one?’ Jack quirked and eyebrow and sat back, looking amused. ‘What a let down. I don’t even qualify as complex, misunderstood, or—better yet—tortured?’

 

Ianto rolled his eyes. ‘You’re far from tortured, you’re just...’ he paused to think for a few seconds ‘...inscrutable.’

 

‘Inscrutable?’ Jack rubbed his chin. ‘Okay, I guess that’s better than nothing. So, I suppose you’re going to tell me what makes me ‘inscrutable’?’

 

Ignoring his mocking tone, Ianto forged ahead. ‘As I was saying, there’s one major thing I haven’t understood about you.’ He took a sip of beer. ‘You and your mother relocate over here and you get a fancy degree from Oxford—with honours in Computer Science, no less—and then, instead of climbing the corporate ladder at some cushy investment banking job, you wind up back in the States setting up shop in a less than reputable area.’

 

Jack shrugged.

 

‘Not only that,’ Ianto persisted, ‘but you choose an unglamorous profession like security systems. It just seems like you are going in circles.’

 

Jack sat back and studied Ianto. ‘True, but I like to think that I am making a contribution to society by helping people. It worked out well anyway, don’t you think?’ He nodded around him to the large house and the surrounding scenery. ‘Maybe, Button, it was all part of some bigger plan.’

 

Ianto nodded. ‘Knowing you, I wouldn’t be surprised. ‘So, what’s this master plan of yours then?’

 

Jack looked amused. ‘You just keep digging until you have answers, don’t you? Which is probably why you make such a good prosecutor.’

 

‘Don’t try to sidetrack me with compliments.’ Ianto steeled himself against this flattery and leaned forward in his seat. ‘One would assume you would stay away from that type of profession, given your father was killed in the line of duty.’

 

Ianto knew from Owen that Jack’s father had been a policeman who had died when Jack was still a teenager. He also knew that Jack’s mother, had packed them up after the funeral and returned to her native Scotland, but had passed away shortly after Jack graduated high-school, leaving him parentless at the age of eighteen. But Jack had excelled at school and had won a scholarship to Oxford. It had all made him feel very sorry for Jack when he’d first met him.

 

‘Am I being cross-examined?’ Jack’s tone was casual, but he sensed an underlying tenseness in him.

 

Knowing he was on to something, Ianto ignored his question and said, instead, ‘Please, I’d really like to know.’

 

Jack saluted him with his empty beer bottle. ‘Okay, I see I’m not going to throw you off.’

 

Ianto wondered if that were true. He got the feeling Jack was only going to give him an answer because he wanted to—and also Ianto sensed he was on terrain that Jack didn’t ordinarily let people onto.

 

He was silent for a time, looking off into the distance before his gaze fixed on him. ‘I was 14 when dad died. Tough age to lose your dad—but then no age is good to lose a parent. He taught me the usual stuff: how to swim, how to ride a bike and he was one of the scout leaders of our local troop. We camped and hiked a lot together.

 

He blew out a breath and continued, ‘Dad had this thing about giving back to the community. Maybe because he’d grown up as a working-class kid and had gone on to join the police.

 

‘Hmm,’ was all Ianto said. He’d finally gotten Jack going and he wasn’t going to sidetrack him by a commentary.

 

‘Anyway, even though we could have afforded to live out in the suburbs, he wanted to stay closer to the city and got himself a job in one of the city precincts.’

 

‘In other words, he was big on ‘community policing’,’ Ianto put in.

 

He nodded. ‘Right.’

 

He took a swig of beer, then squinted into the distance as if he was trying to make out something. ‘One day the doorbell rang and I thought it was him, back from the evening shift. Instead it was the sergeant from his district, looking so serious I knew straight away.’ His gaze shifted back to Ianto.

 

‘How did it happen,’ Ianto asked softly. They’d known each other for years but this was the first time he’d felt comfortable enough to ask him about his father’s death. He ached for the boy who had opened the door to a nightmare all those years ago.

 

‘He was responding to a break in. He caught one guy, cuffed him. What he didn’t realise was that there was a second guy with a .38 special.’

 

Ianto flinched at the image he evoked.

 

‘Jack grinned crookedly. ‘You wanted to know, Button.’

 

‘What I want to know is why you bury the story.’

 

‘Ever argumentative and spirited aren’t you?’

 

Ianto frowned. ‘Maybe, but there’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of in that story. I have no idea why you keep quiet about it. In fact...’

 

‘In fact,’ Jack finished for him, ‘people might have felt sorry for me and gone out of their way to help, so that what you were going to say?’

 

‘Well, yes...’

 

‘And that’s exactly what I didn’t want,’ Jack said, his look almost combative. ‘That’s exactly how the people who did know—at my father’s precinct and the neighbourhood—did act.’ His brows drew together. ‘We didn’t need their sympathy. It sure as hell wasn’t going to bring him back. And I’m sure as hell I didn’t want anyone thinking I was trading on tragedy.’

 

Jack’s words were startling. And yet, they were in keeping with what Ianto knew him to be: proud, tough, and private.

 

‘Curiosity satisfied, Ianto? Jack asked, rising with his empty plate. His tone wasn’t mocking, just matter-of-fact.

 

‘Thank you for telling me,’ Ianto said simply, picking up his own plate and utensils and following him inside, where he placed it in the sink. ‘I can’t even imagine how hard it was for you and your mother.’

 

Jack leaned against the counter, legs casually crossed at his feet. ‘Yeah, it was devastating for mum. She packed us up and took us back to Scotland.’

 

‘You must have been lonely. I mean moving to a different country, new friends...’

 

‘No,’ he said. ‘I was a terror. My father had been killed and I was as mad as hell at the world. I fought, I skipped school and I took risks. What finally turned me a round was a combination of my mum and a particularly curious science teacher who dished out some tough-love and made me realise that I had a brain and made me see that I was worth more than. He basically told me that if I didn’t change my ways, I’d just end up a conman on the street with nothing and I should use the smarts I had for something better. I owe him a lot.’

 

Ianto sat down on a bar stool at the counter top. ‘Which brings me back to my original question. You could have gone anywhere, done anything after Oxford, and you had every reason to.’

 

‘Like I said, you’re tenacious.’ Jack gave him a once-over with his eyes, then smiled at his scowl. ‘When I started my business, I was looking to keep overhead low.’

 

‘Every time I come across a profile of you in the newspapers or in magazines, they always mention that you went back to ‘beginning’ to start your business.’

 

Jack had gone back to America and had started his business in his old neighbourhood. After only a year, he was already a well-respected businessman and was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year. His business had grown so fast that he decided to expand overseas and not long after he returned to the UK to set up shop.

 

Jack smirked. ‘You read all the bios of me, Button?’

 

Ianto felt himself blush. ‘Just when the only alternative is reading the instructions on medicine bottles.’

 

Jack’s smirk grew. ‘You don’t give an inch, do you?’

 

‘You don’t either,’ Ianto retorted. ‘Anyway,’ he said, going back to the subject at hand, ‘I may have also read that Harkness Security still has offices back in your old neighbourhood, but it has another function now?’

 

‘Yeah, you could say that.’

 

Jack’s hesitancy puzzled him. He knew his information wasn’t wrong and his question was more rhetorical anyway. ‘Yessss.’

 

He coughed and folded his arms. ‘It’s not really an office at all, anymore. It’s more like a community-relations outfit.’

 

Ianto almost laughed. ‘You mean it’s a charity?’

 

Jack shifted. ‘Yeah, that’s right.’

 

The urge to tease was irresistible. ‘Don’t tell me the tough Jack Harkness has a soft spot, after all?’ Ianto cocked his head.

 

Jack remained silent. He actually looked a little uncomfortable.

 

‘Face it, Jack, you’re just like the rest of us well-heeled do-gooders you dislike so much. You know,’ he said, throwing Jack’s words back at him, ‘like those high-society rich people who organise charity auctions.’

 

Jack acknowledged the teasing with a raised eyebrow but then shook his head. ‘I wasn’t born rich. There’s a difference.’

 

‘What does this charitable organisation do? And by the way...’ he held up a hand, ‘...while I’m enjoying this enormously because I love riling you up about this. I’m pleased you see fit to do good in the world.’

 

‘This ‘charitable organisation’, as you put it, sponsors programs for neighbourhood kids.’

 

‘Very good.’ Ianto nodded. ‘I’m just surprised you’re not doing something more tied to Harkness Security’s line of business.’

 

Jack looked surprised for a second.

 

‘What?’

 

‘We are. Good guess.’ He added, ‘We offer self-defense classes and classes on home security.’

 

‘Ah,’ Ianto said.

 

‘I can see a light-bulb going on in your head.’

 

‘Well, it does explain a lot after all. Your father was into giving back to the community and you grow up and make good, then set up a charity. And not only that, your father died thwarting a burglary and you go into the security business.’

 

Jack shoved away from the counter. ‘Connecting those dots is easy. Just don’t read too much into it,’ he said.

 

‘Why? Are you saying your father’s death had nothing to do with it?’ Ianto persisted.

 

‘What I’m saying is you ask too many questions,’ he grumbled. ‘But, yeah, I’ll concede the influence.’

 

Despite the casual tone, Ianto knew he’d finally penetrated a bit below the facade that Jack Harkness presented to the world. He’d also gained some insight into the source of Jack’s protective instincts.

 

 

 

Comments

[lilferret]

Handsome, owns his own business, AND charitable? I like that in a man.

[madbottoms.livejournal.com]

Who wouldn't?

[reddevilpoes.livejournal.com]

running of to the next chapter...

[forsaken2003.livejournal.com]

A wonderful chapter. And knowing a little more about jack is never a bad thing =)

[madbottoms.livejournal.com]

Nope, never a bad thing. Thanks for reading.

[black59.livejournal.com]

Ianto would do a Inspector of hell !
But, as Ianto suspected , Jack answers because he wants it!

and Jack meets because he wants Ianto to learn to know him.

I can not help but think because of these threats, , Jack finally sees the opportunity to approach Ianto ...

[madbottoms.livejournal.com]

Ianto is very pushy indeed. They still have a ways to go but they are getting there.