Title: Running on empty
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Gwen
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,075 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 215 - Stretch
Summary: If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.



Jack collapsed on the ground in all kinds of pain. It was hard to tell which part of him hurt more, since each part protested in turn before coming full circle to start all over again. Worse was the complete inability to get enough oxygen in his lungs to be able to see straight. Everything was fuzzy and indistinct. As he lay there, coated in a sheen of sweat, lungs gasping desperately for air, a face appeared over the top of him.

'Are you okay?' He recognised the dulcet tones of his beloved Welshman even if the details were still a little blurry. He thought he'd left Ianto well behind him, but he seemed to have caught up. Despite the agony he was in, he couldn't help but admire that slim figure, picturing in his mind what was hidden beneath those shorts and loose sweatshirt. His exposed arms were toned and he had his own sheen of sweat across his brow and the small damp patch on his shirt between his pecs, but unlike Jack, he seemed to be otherwise fine.

'Can't breathe,' Jack said, flopping onto his back, heaving his chest up and down like someone was stoking it with a pump.

'If you couldn't breathe you wouldn't be able to talk,' Ianto said, smiling down at him. Even without breath, he was fairly certain Jack would still be talking. He'd be able to talk underwater.

Gwen joined her teammate in coming over to hover over their leader. 'What's wrong with him? I though you guys were right behind me.'

'I think Jack bit off more than he could chew.'

'You think?' she replied, giving him a toothy grin, brushing back a few stray hairs that had fallen out of her ponytail. 'I left him for dead.'

'Almost literally,' Ianto said, staring down at Jack who was slowly starting to get his breathing back under control.

'My side hurts,' Jack complained. 'I think my appendix just burst.'

'You don't have an appendix,' Ianto replied. It was just one of those fifty first century things.

'Maybe Owen was wrong,' Jack replied. Had it not been for some emergency surgery he'd done on Jack one day, he would never have uncovered the fact that Jack didn't have an appendix, and that he'd never had one removed. At least that he was aware of.

'A lung, then,' Jack said. 'I definitely burst something.'

'It's a stitch, Jack.'

'A stitch? More like gaping tear in my side! Are you sure the skin isn't broken?'

Ianto rolled his eyes at Jack's histrionics. Amazing what ailed him when they weren't in the heat of a pursuit. 'I did warn you to stretch beforehand.'

'I'm in peak physical condition. I don't need to stretch.'

'Says the man writhing in agony on the ground.'

It had been Gwen's idea to start running in the morning. Jack had naturally told her they didn't need any more running in their lives, but it was hard to argue that they ran nearly as much as they used to, and none of them were getting any younger. Well, at least he and Gwen weren't, and Jack remained firmly fixed at the same age - eight years old, if you asked Ianto. It was meant to be a two mile jog, but Jack wouldn't be outdone by either of them, speeding up to overtake them, teasing them and yelling back at them. It wasn't long until it had become a race instead of a paced run, Gwen and Jack doing whatever they could to outrun one another. Jack had the longer stride, but Gwen had speed. Only Ianto gave up trying to compete with them. Pride and common sense just never made a good combination. He wasn't miles behind them, but he wasn't about to bust a lung just because neither of them could resist acting like children. Now Jack was paying the price for his competitive streak.

'Come on, old man. You're not dead yet,' Ianto said, reaching down to help him up. Instead Jack grabbed Ianto by the wrist and tugged him down hard, sending him tumbling ungracefully onto the grass.

'Idiot,' Ianto muttered, rolling onto his back next to Jack, feeling the cool grass pressed along his back which was damp from his exertions. Getting out for a run had been good. He wasn't quite as fit as he'd thought, but still managed to put in a decent pace, even if he wasn't about to go sprinting after the others. It would be harder once he stopped now, having to get up and walk the rest of the way back to the hub, whilst lactic acid built up in the disused muscles. He really had to get up now before that happened.

'Get up, Jack.'

'Can't.'

'Can.' He waited for Gwen to dare him to beat her back. That would be the only thing that would get him on his feet now. Ianto could have dared him the same thing, but his heart wasn't in it to try and compete with Jack. It was equally tempting just to stay there lying in the early morning sunshine, especially if Jack was going to be stubborn.

True to form, Gwen smiled down at Jack. 'Come on. We've got a mile back to the hub and I'm not even tired yet. And you tell me you've got stamina.'

Jack bolted upright, the pain in his side and calves forgotten. 'I've got so much stamina you won't even be able to keep up, Missy. Just ask Ianto. When you finally catch up to me back at the hub, I'll be ready for my reward from Ianto.' He took off at a spritely pace and Gwen yelled after him, chasing after him as he laughed, spurred on by some newfound energy that hadn't been there thirty seconds ago. Maybe it was more of those highly evolved genetics, or it was just Jack being completely impossible.

Ianto lay there just a moment longer, relishing the pleasant feeling of the grass beneath him. He'd paced himself earlier, and now he was going to have to do the same if Jack was planning on going another round with him afterwards. He'd been looking forward to a shower when they got back, but now it seemed like that was just going to be the precursor to what came next. He'd have to stretch entirely different parts of his body to prepare himself for that.